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!!
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