Just a week and 1 day left and I'm getting excited about coming home. Things are going well here in Australia though. This past week, I had the opportunity to go on a trip with Ed and Joyce (and Tash and Andrew) up to Cairnes (pronounced Cannes). It's in the northern part of the country. We flew up on Monday afternoon, checked into our hotel, then grabbed a nice dinner and did some walking around. The next day was the exciting day! We were picked up by a bus at our hotel which took us to our boat! The sun is even more intense than it is here where I've been staying in the Brisbane area. So as we're on the boatride (sitting inside), we're putting on the sunscreen. The Aussies have a saying, "Slip, Slop, Slap." It means slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat. In the area where we were, if you're in the sun for 20 minutes, you can burn to a crisp! It's that intense. Anyway, the boat then took us out to Green Island where Andrew, Tash and I snorkeled from the beach. Now I can say that I've snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef! We saw some neat looking fish, a couple of starfish, and a shark! Thankfully, we weren't in the water when we saw the shark :-) After snorkeling, we came back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and then went out again that night. They have nighttime markets in the city, so we hit those up for a bit that night. The next day we didn't have much time, so we grabbed breakfast at a little cafe in town and then headed to the airport. All in all, it was a good trip.
This Thursday is my last day to teach RE. We are doing a Christmas lesson and making the class a special one. Tash and I will get together tomorrow and get all the details taken care of, but we wanted to do something a bit special for them since it's the last class. We will spend part of the time telling the Christmas story and then the last part of class will be fellowship time.
I'm also working on some last minute projects before I go. I have pretty much finished up the church library. I'm just working on getting a binder put together of all of the pages in the spreadsheet. And I'm doing various other jobs for Ed and Joyce. Some require making copies for future Sunday school lessons and I'm also doing some letterboxing (which means going from house to house and putting a church flyer in the mailboxes). You can actually put stuff in people's mailboxes here, unlike the U.S.
Well, I'll probably have one more post before I finish up my "Life in Oz" blog. After that, I'll take a break from blogging and maybe start up again after I'm Mrs. Michelle Dietrich!!!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Almost done...
Well, my time is coming to an end here in Australia. I have 3 weeks left and I'll be heading home. The next 3 weeks will be busy though! In the middle of preparing for our church Christmas program, teaching RE, and making one last trip before I go, I have to pack! I've actually already started that process! This weekend, I went through my clothes and organized them a bit better so it'll be easier to pack them up. I even got rid of some things...Greg was so proud! I have a hard time parting with my clothes sometimes!
This past week, Joyce and I were able to go up to the mountains to a cabin that is owned by one of the church families. It's kind of like a cabin resort area with a bunch of cabins, a cafe/restaurant, golf course and tennis courts. When we checked in on Thursday afternoon, we were talking to a couple of the staff people and in conversation with one of the guys there, found out that he was originally from Philly and had moved over to Sydney about 6 years ago. So we had much to talk about!!! Of course, we got on the subject of Philly cheesesteaks! He was the chef in the kitchen that week, so he told Joyce and I to come by the next day and he would whip us up something special. So we went to the cafe for lunch the next day, and Frank made us some delicious cheesesteaks!!! It was a piece of home and was so yummy!
Next week, I'll be traveling with the Sims up to Cairnes (pronounced Cannes), which is in Northern Australia. This is one of the locations where you can catch tours of the Great Barrier Reef. We got a great package deal that includes airfare, hotel, and one of two tours (snorkeling the reef or a glass bottom boat tour of the reef). I've been snorkeling before down in Key West and was a nervous wreck (ask Brock, Carolyn, and Miguel...they'll remember!!!), and when I heard about the snorkeling on this trip, I was a bit apprehensive. But after thinking about it, and being coerced by my mother :-), I knew there was no way I could leave Australia and not snorkel the reef when given the chance. So my mind is pretty much made up...although I'll be a ball of nerves the whole time!
So home is on the horizon and I can't help but think of the madness that will start once I get there! Wedding planning will be full throttle and in just a matter of 5 to 6 months, I'll be a married woman. I am constantly amazed at the man God has so graciously given me. I come to appreciate Greg more and more. One of the most encouraging things is that he wants to live a Christ-centered life - spilling over into a Christ-centered relationship. Not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. I have seen many evidences of this in the short time that we have known each other and it thrills me that this great man will be my husband in a matter of months.
I have been so thankful for my time here and at times, I know I have failed my God in making the most of this ministry opportunity. But I'm grateful that he forgives when we repent. What an amazing God we serve! I stand in awe of His sovereignty and I know that my plans and thoughts are not his plans and thoughts. I don't think I would have still come on this trip had I had my own way. Obviously, this trip was planned long before I met Greg. Only God knew all that would transpire in that time frame...and it was alot!! But Isaiah 55:8-9 continues to be an encouragement to me..."My thoughts are completely different from yours, says the Lord, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." My selfishness, so often, gets in the way of seeing how God uses circumstances to help me grow and become more like Christ.
Thanks for your prayers everyone! I have definitely felt the Spirit at work!!
This past week, Joyce and I were able to go up to the mountains to a cabin that is owned by one of the church families. It's kind of like a cabin resort area with a bunch of cabins, a cafe/restaurant, golf course and tennis courts. When we checked in on Thursday afternoon, we were talking to a couple of the staff people and in conversation with one of the guys there, found out that he was originally from Philly and had moved over to Sydney about 6 years ago. So we had much to talk about!!! Of course, we got on the subject of Philly cheesesteaks! He was the chef in the kitchen that week, so he told Joyce and I to come by the next day and he would whip us up something special. So we went to the cafe for lunch the next day, and Frank made us some delicious cheesesteaks!!! It was a piece of home and was so yummy!
Next week, I'll be traveling with the Sims up to Cairnes (pronounced Cannes), which is in Northern Australia. This is one of the locations where you can catch tours of the Great Barrier Reef. We got a great package deal that includes airfare, hotel, and one of two tours (snorkeling the reef or a glass bottom boat tour of the reef). I've been snorkeling before down in Key West and was a nervous wreck (ask Brock, Carolyn, and Miguel...they'll remember!!!), and when I heard about the snorkeling on this trip, I was a bit apprehensive. But after thinking about it, and being coerced by my mother :-), I knew there was no way I could leave Australia and not snorkel the reef when given the chance. So my mind is pretty much made up...although I'll be a ball of nerves the whole time!
So home is on the horizon and I can't help but think of the madness that will start once I get there! Wedding planning will be full throttle and in just a matter of 5 to 6 months, I'll be a married woman. I am constantly amazed at the man God has so graciously given me. I come to appreciate Greg more and more. One of the most encouraging things is that he wants to live a Christ-centered life - spilling over into a Christ-centered relationship. Not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. I have seen many evidences of this in the short time that we have known each other and it thrills me that this great man will be my husband in a matter of months.
I have been so thankful for my time here and at times, I know I have failed my God in making the most of this ministry opportunity. But I'm grateful that he forgives when we repent. What an amazing God we serve! I stand in awe of His sovereignty and I know that my plans and thoughts are not his plans and thoughts. I don't think I would have still come on this trip had I had my own way. Obviously, this trip was planned long before I met Greg. Only God knew all that would transpire in that time frame...and it was alot!! But Isaiah 55:8-9 continues to be an encouragement to me..."My thoughts are completely different from yours, says the Lord, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." My selfishness, so often, gets in the way of seeing how God uses circumstances to help me grow and become more like Christ.
Thanks for your prayers everyone! I have definitely felt the Spirit at work!!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Finally made it to Sydney!
So school has started back up again and it's been a whirlwind the last 2 weeks. I have had 4 extra RE classes each week because I have been filling in for another teacher who has been away on holiday. I had subbed for this teacher once before so I was a little familiar with the students. In one of my classes, I had put together a review board game and had split the class up in two teams and picked spokespersons for each team. One of the girls continued to have a problem with their team's spokesperson and it ended up in a shouting match with cuss words flying. It wasn't until it was escalated that the teacher jumped in and handled the situation. This was after I had raised my voice several times, stopped the entire class, and waited for the girls to calm down. I was amazed that the teacher took that long to take care of the 2 girls. They were punished by sitting on opposite sides of the room and were no longer allowed to participate in the game. Interesting class!
My other classes have been quite interesting also. We allowed our students to write down questions that they had about what we had been teaching and about Christianity in general. Some of the questions seemed silly, but some of them were some pretty big questions. We took a class period last week to go over some of the questions. We didn't get through that many of them because the students had more questions, so we decided to answer some of them right then and there. Some of the questions, we had to tell them we would get back to them...I'm ok with saying that I don't know something and I don't want to look foolish trying to answer it. Anyway, I had one student say that, God was dead. I mean, this is a 9 year old saying this. And the funny thing is, our memory verse that we had been studying is from Daniel 6:26 where it talks about HE is the living God, the one who lives forever. I'm going to try to talk to this kid again in the weeks to come and ask him how he has come to the conclusion that God is dead. More than likely, it's something that he's heard at home.
This past week was incredibly busy. I was busy preparing for 2 days of classes (Thursday and Friday). Monday night was ladies' bible study and then Tuesday morning at 6am, I was headed to the Brisbane airport with Tash for our trip to Sydney. We got into Sydney around 11 am and hit the ground running. It was raining when we got into the city, so we bought some cheap umbrellas and started walking. We headed to our hotel so we could check in and drop our bags. The rain continued throughout the day, but we didn't let it stop us. We did Sydney Harbor and Manly, saw the Opera House (it's kind of hard to miss since it's the main attraction on the Harbor), and then we saw various other things throughout the city. Now, the Opera House...it's definitely a piece of work. I can remember seeing it on TV and seeing it in pictures all of my life, and it was cool being able to actually see it in person. I took lots of pictures for my mom...I would have loved for her to have been there with me. She would have enjoyed it.
That night, we rested in the hotel and then headed to the Sydney Tower for dinner. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's kind of like the Space Needle. It's a tall tower with a revolving restaurant at the top. So we did that for our one nice meal while we were in Sydney and I can now say that I have had kangaroo meat...and didn't like it one bit! It was way too gamey...the flavor was just not for me!
The next day, I had the opportunity to meet up with a college friend's girlfriend for coffee. My friend Jordan had been over in China for 3 years teaching and met a Chinese girl, they started dating, and now Jordan is back in the States and his girl Irene is studying for her masters in Sydney. He found out that I was in Australia and told me that his girlfriend was in Sydney. When I told him that I was planning a trip to Sydney, we both decided it would be great if I could meet up with Irene. So we planned ahead of time, and I was able to have coffee with her Wednesday morning in the city. It's amazing to me that I'm thousands and thousands of miles away from home and I was able to connect with an old friend's girlfriend. She was lovely and I really enjoyed chatting with her.
After coffee and breakfast, Tash and I started another day of sightseeing. We went to Bondi Beach which I absolutely loved. It turned out to be a beautiful day with no rain, so walking around Bondi was great!! I've said before, I love the ocean wherever I go...and this time was no different. This was actually my favorite out of all the beaches that I've seen here. Too bad it was chilly that day, because I would have loved to have gone swimming. The rest of the day was spent running around the city (using every type of transportation: train, bus and ferry). We visited Darling Harbor towards the end of the day, had a late lunch, and then tried to see Olympic Park but once we had gotten out to the train station to catch another train there, it was getting too late so we had to hop another train and head back to our hotel to grab our bags and head to the airport. All in all, it was a good trip, but I have come to a conclusion. All big cities are the same...
As for the rest of the week, I had classes on Thursday and Friday (all went smoothly) and then Friday night, some of the youth got together with a handful of people from another church in the area and we played some tennis. I'm terrible at it, but had a good time though. Saturday ended up being a semi-relaxing day which was good because Sunday was busy (as usual).
Not too much else going on here. I'm down to 6 weeks left and I can hardly contain my excitement! I am so ready to be with Greg again...and I miss my family too! But still so thankful for the opportunity that's been given to me.
Until next time...
My other classes have been quite interesting also. We allowed our students to write down questions that they had about what we had been teaching and about Christianity in general. Some of the questions seemed silly, but some of them were some pretty big questions. We took a class period last week to go over some of the questions. We didn't get through that many of them because the students had more questions, so we decided to answer some of them right then and there. Some of the questions, we had to tell them we would get back to them...I'm ok with saying that I don't know something and I don't want to look foolish trying to answer it. Anyway, I had one student say that, God was dead. I mean, this is a 9 year old saying this. And the funny thing is, our memory verse that we had been studying is from Daniel 6:26 where it talks about HE is the living God, the one who lives forever. I'm going to try to talk to this kid again in the weeks to come and ask him how he has come to the conclusion that God is dead. More than likely, it's something that he's heard at home.
This past week was incredibly busy. I was busy preparing for 2 days of classes (Thursday and Friday). Monday night was ladies' bible study and then Tuesday morning at 6am, I was headed to the Brisbane airport with Tash for our trip to Sydney. We got into Sydney around 11 am and hit the ground running. It was raining when we got into the city, so we bought some cheap umbrellas and started walking. We headed to our hotel so we could check in and drop our bags. The rain continued throughout the day, but we didn't let it stop us. We did Sydney Harbor and Manly, saw the Opera House (it's kind of hard to miss since it's the main attraction on the Harbor), and then we saw various other things throughout the city. Now, the Opera House...it's definitely a piece of work. I can remember seeing it on TV and seeing it in pictures all of my life, and it was cool being able to actually see it in person. I took lots of pictures for my mom...I would have loved for her to have been there with me. She would have enjoyed it.
That night, we rested in the hotel and then headed to the Sydney Tower for dinner. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's kind of like the Space Needle. It's a tall tower with a revolving restaurant at the top. So we did that for our one nice meal while we were in Sydney and I can now say that I have had kangaroo meat...and didn't like it one bit! It was way too gamey...the flavor was just not for me!
The next day, I had the opportunity to meet up with a college friend's girlfriend for coffee. My friend Jordan had been over in China for 3 years teaching and met a Chinese girl, they started dating, and now Jordan is back in the States and his girl Irene is studying for her masters in Sydney. He found out that I was in Australia and told me that his girlfriend was in Sydney. When I told him that I was planning a trip to Sydney, we both decided it would be great if I could meet up with Irene. So we planned ahead of time, and I was able to have coffee with her Wednesday morning in the city. It's amazing to me that I'm thousands and thousands of miles away from home and I was able to connect with an old friend's girlfriend. She was lovely and I really enjoyed chatting with her.
After coffee and breakfast, Tash and I started another day of sightseeing. We went to Bondi Beach which I absolutely loved. It turned out to be a beautiful day with no rain, so walking around Bondi was great!! I've said before, I love the ocean wherever I go...and this time was no different. This was actually my favorite out of all the beaches that I've seen here. Too bad it was chilly that day, because I would have loved to have gone swimming. The rest of the day was spent running around the city (using every type of transportation: train, bus and ferry). We visited Darling Harbor towards the end of the day, had a late lunch, and then tried to see Olympic Park but once we had gotten out to the train station to catch another train there, it was getting too late so we had to hop another train and head back to our hotel to grab our bags and head to the airport. All in all, it was a good trip, but I have come to a conclusion. All big cities are the same...
As for the rest of the week, I had classes on Thursday and Friday (all went smoothly) and then Friday night, some of the youth got together with a handful of people from another church in the area and we played some tennis. I'm terrible at it, but had a good time though. Saturday ended up being a semi-relaxing day which was good because Sunday was busy (as usual).
Not too much else going on here. I'm down to 6 weeks left and I can hardly contain my excitement! I am so ready to be with Greg again...and I miss my family too! But still so thankful for the opportunity that's been given to me.
Until next time...
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Definitely time for an update!
Yep, it's time for an update! Sorry to all of you who are following my blog...life has become pretty "normal" here, so a lot of times, I don't have much to say. I do like to use my blog to tell you what I'm learning, so that's what the last 2 posts have been about.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty quiet. The schools have been on holidays here so I haven't had any classes to teach and no Kid's club on Sunday nights either. Since school is year round here, the kids get various breaks throughout the year. This break was 2 weeks long. So the past couple of weeks, I've been helping out around the house, working on the library at church, listening to sermons from Grace Bible Church in Philly and doing lots of reading (some at home and some at a coffee shop). I'm glad for the extra time that I had to do all of those things especially filling my days with the Word. I'm constantly reminded how important it is to be saturated with the Word.
This past Sunday night, Tash and I headed into the city for some starbucks and some walking around. The city of Brisbane set up a huge fancy ferris wheel by the river called the Brisbane Wheel, so Tash and I decided to check it out. When we went to inquire about tickets, we found that they were 15 bucks! I don't know that I would have paid that, but Tash graciously paid for both of us to go on it. Each car is an enclosed gondola and since it wasn't busy, we got our own one. It was a really neat experience.
Now....school is back in session and I have class Thursday and Friday. My normal class is Thursday and I'm filling in for another teacher on Friday. So I spent some of my morning preparing for that today and then spent the rest of the time working up at the church. The library is moving along and I probably have about 10 hours left of data entry (sounds like a lot, but a couple hours a day for 5 days isn't that much). After that, it will just be pure organization...which I like to do! Once that project is done, I'll move onto another one; not sure of what that one is yet.
Next week I'm headed to Sydney with Tash. We are taking a 2 day/1 night trip down there. I'm looking forward to being able to see another big city of Australia and plan to do lots of sightseeing and take lots of pictures!! My mom would kill me if I didn't take pictures of the Sydney Opera House...don't worry mom!
Well, that's about it. I'm about 56 days from coming home and that seems unbelieveable! It's hard to imagine that it's almost the middle of October. Before I know it, it'll be December and I'll be on a plane headed home. And as soon as I get home...I get to plan a wedding!!!
Here's a few pictures...the bird is a kookaburra!
The last couple of weeks have been pretty quiet. The schools have been on holidays here so I haven't had any classes to teach and no Kid's club on Sunday nights either. Since school is year round here, the kids get various breaks throughout the year. This break was 2 weeks long. So the past couple of weeks, I've been helping out around the house, working on the library at church, listening to sermons from Grace Bible Church in Philly and doing lots of reading (some at home and some at a coffee shop). I'm glad for the extra time that I had to do all of those things especially filling my days with the Word. I'm constantly reminded how important it is to be saturated with the Word.
This past Sunday night, Tash and I headed into the city for some starbucks and some walking around. The city of Brisbane set up a huge fancy ferris wheel by the river called the Brisbane Wheel, so Tash and I decided to check it out. When we went to inquire about tickets, we found that they were 15 bucks! I don't know that I would have paid that, but Tash graciously paid for both of us to go on it. Each car is an enclosed gondola and since it wasn't busy, we got our own one. It was a really neat experience.
Now....school is back in session and I have class Thursday and Friday. My normal class is Thursday and I'm filling in for another teacher on Friday. So I spent some of my morning preparing for that today and then spent the rest of the time working up at the church. The library is moving along and I probably have about 10 hours left of data entry (sounds like a lot, but a couple hours a day for 5 days isn't that much). After that, it will just be pure organization...which I like to do! Once that project is done, I'll move onto another one; not sure of what that one is yet.
Next week I'm headed to Sydney with Tash. We are taking a 2 day/1 night trip down there. I'm looking forward to being able to see another big city of Australia and plan to do lots of sightseeing and take lots of pictures!! My mom would kill me if I didn't take pictures of the Sydney Opera House...don't worry mom!
Well, that's about it. I'm about 56 days from coming home and that seems unbelieveable! It's hard to imagine that it's almost the middle of October. Before I know it, it'll be December and I'll be on a plane headed home. And as soon as I get home...I get to plan a wedding!!!
Here's a few pictures...the bird is a kookaburra!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
What is a servant?
Webster's says that it is "one that serves others". The Free Dictionary says it is "one who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another". My definition would be one that serves with no thought of theirselves. One who serves and seeks no praise, but the praise of Jesus. One who gives the glory to God alone. Am I that person? Far from it! My sin nature says, "I'll do it, but what recognition will I get?"or "what am I gaining from this?" or "do I really have to?" What in the world am I thinking? Who am I to gain recognition? Who has given me the ability to do all that I do? Who am I to take credit away from the most high God? How dare me? That has been my struggle recently. What is God teaching me? I'm learning so much about what it means to be a servant. I just want the Spirit to continue moving in my heart to change me so that I might be the servant that my God wants me to be.
In reading through some Old Testament verses, I find 3 true servants that stand out:
Moses - It says over and over in many passages of scriptures that he was a "servant of the Lord". You can look at Moses' leadership for 40 years in the wilderness and find that he was a faithful servant of the Lord through the good and bad times.
Samuel - A true servant of the Lord. He listened to the voice of the Lord and obeyed!
David - A faithful servant. Even through his sin and his forgiveness, he proved that he was a servant of God.
In Luke 12:47 it says, "And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating." Jesus is telling a parable about servants preparing for their master's arrival. The master will come on a day and an hour that will not be expected. Opportunities to serve constantly come, we know the Master's will, so BE READY!
Do I fail at this? Oh yes...all of the time! But God has called me to serve and I praise Him for continuing to show me that! Praise Him for his forgiveness and His mercy when I fail!
In reading through some Old Testament verses, I find 3 true servants that stand out:
Moses - It says over and over in many passages of scriptures that he was a "servant of the Lord". You can look at Moses' leadership for 40 years in the wilderness and find that he was a faithful servant of the Lord through the good and bad times.
Samuel - A true servant of the Lord. He listened to the voice of the Lord and obeyed!
David - A faithful servant. Even through his sin and his forgiveness, he proved that he was a servant of God.
In Luke 12:47 it says, "And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating." Jesus is telling a parable about servants preparing for their master's arrival. The master will come on a day and an hour that will not be expected. Opportunities to serve constantly come, we know the Master's will, so BE READY!
Do I fail at this? Oh yes...all of the time! But God has called me to serve and I praise Him for continuing to show me that! Praise Him for his forgiveness and His mercy when I fail!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Why am I here?
God has been gently reminding me of why I'm here in Australia. It isn't like something big has hit me, but it was just a certain situation where I exercised selfishness in ministry and was instantly rebuked by the Holy Spirit. Why am I here? Is it for a break from life or do I really want to serve for the glory of my Lord? I get discouraged because I don't see results, but what's important is that the deed is being done, the seed is being sown, the truth is getting out. Whether it's in church through music, through teaching my kids on Sunday nights, or through my classes that I teach on Thursday mornings, the TRUTH is getting out there and it's my job to do the best that I can (with strength coming only from the Lord) with the task that has been given to me. Yes, I am selfish...I am human. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. My heart is wicked but because of the grace of God, my sins have been forgiven. Even though this is true, it doesn't mean that I won't struggle. But God is merciful and forgives. So why am I here? I'm here to serve the people of Great Hope Baptist Church in any capacity, I'm here to teach religious education to kids each Thursday, and I'm here to help the Sims (as a family) in any way that I can. I know that God is using this time to challenge and sharpen me. He is revealing sin in my life and that makes me rejoice. I want to be refined. I want to grow more like my Jesus. So my prayer is that HE will keep revealing sin and making me more like Him.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A little busy...
Just a short note to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about my blog. Things have been a bit busy. My religious education classes started up last week and I found myself worn out by Friday afternoon. I only taught 2 days (7 classes) and found that teaching is definitely not my calling! For those of you who do it all day every day, kudos to you. I enjoy doing it for short periods of time! The classes are going well though and I have some great students. They are eager to learn which makes it easier to teach! Tash and I even received several compliments from the teachers of how well it went. This week in our first class after my lesson, the teacher asked me if I was a teacher, I answered no. Then he asked if I had ever thought about being a teacher, I said yes. And then he proceeded to tell me that I would make an excellent teacher and that I did a fantastic job. Hmmm, I wonder if the Lord has a new calling for me. Anyway, hopefully, we can continue having good classes in the coming weeks.
I'm also teaching a class on Sunday nights during our kids' club. That has been interesting as some of my kids are Tongan and don't speak English very well. I will be using a lot more pictures in my lessons so it's easier for them to understand. But it's been neat to have such a young moldable group. This past week we learned about the sovereignty of God. It thrilled my heart to be teaching these kids the great theology that the sovereignty of God encompasses. Even with kids as young as I have, it's quite easy to bring things down on their level to teach them that God is in control of every aspect of their lives and knows what's to come.
I have been able to spend some time with a young mother in the church. I say young, but she's older than I am. This couple has been coming to the church here since right around the time that I came over. They were both born in Romania, but Ioana grew up Israel and Josef spent most of his life here in Australia. They have a little boy named Daniel who brings a smile to my face every time I see him. This past Tuesday, Ioana invited me over, so I arrived right around tea time and we sat and chatted for almost an hour and a half before the baby woke up. We decided to take a walk down to the shops and walk around for a bit. She bought me lunch which was very sweet and all in all I had a very nice time with her and look forward to many more days like that. She said she invited me over because she knows there is no one my age in the church. Her and Josef are a couple of years older than I am. How thoughtful of her.
As I sit and write, I can hear the pouring rain outside. For those of you who don't like rain, it's a blessing here. This area is a very dry area and we have actually been in a drought and have water restrictions in effect. That means, short showers, no washing your car, no watering your lawn, etc. It has been raining for almost 2 days straight which is still not enough to quench the drought, but it's still good us!
Well, until next time....
I'm also teaching a class on Sunday nights during our kids' club. That has been interesting as some of my kids are Tongan and don't speak English very well. I will be using a lot more pictures in my lessons so it's easier for them to understand. But it's been neat to have such a young moldable group. This past week we learned about the sovereignty of God. It thrilled my heart to be teaching these kids the great theology that the sovereignty of God encompasses. Even with kids as young as I have, it's quite easy to bring things down on their level to teach them that God is in control of every aspect of their lives and knows what's to come.
I have been able to spend some time with a young mother in the church. I say young, but she's older than I am. This couple has been coming to the church here since right around the time that I came over. They were both born in Romania, but Ioana grew up Israel and Josef spent most of his life here in Australia. They have a little boy named Daniel who brings a smile to my face every time I see him. This past Tuesday, Ioana invited me over, so I arrived right around tea time and we sat and chatted for almost an hour and a half before the baby woke up. We decided to take a walk down to the shops and walk around for a bit. She bought me lunch which was very sweet and all in all I had a very nice time with her and look forward to many more days like that. She said she invited me over because she knows there is no one my age in the church. Her and Josef are a couple of years older than I am. How thoughtful of her.
As I sit and write, I can hear the pouring rain outside. For those of you who don't like rain, it's a blessing here. This area is a very dry area and we have actually been in a drought and have water restrictions in effect. That means, short showers, no washing your car, no watering your lawn, etc. It has been raining for almost 2 days straight which is still not enough to quench the drought, but it's still good us!
Well, until next time....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
