August 26th

We are feeling slightly more awake today - yesterday was lost to jet-lag! After the fastest 6 weeks we have ever experienced, here is the last entry for our Australia Blog. We have had a totally amazing experience and we are so grateful to God for allowing us the priviledge of serving Him on the other side of the world.
We got back to a wonderfully clean and sparkling house with gorgeous flowers and food in the fridge - we are really grateful to Dave and Jo for looking after our place so well - we haven't had to worry about anything at all. They have appreciated the time they have had here - it is a pleasure to be able to share what God has given us with our friends.
Looking back over our time on placement we seem to have done so much! It is difficult to identify any one thing that could be called a highlight - the whole time has just been fantastic. We have asked the girls what they think have been their highlights for the trip. They all agreed that the beach was pretty special. Abi and Beth both loved going to Seaworld while Bex loved Lone Pine. Beth said she also liked going on the ferry trips and Bex said that Kangaroo Point cliffs were just amazing!
We have not changed our minds about where we believe God is calling us - we believe that our future still lies here in the UK (for the moment at least!)
We all now have a love for Australia (at least the bits we saw!) but it is not the place that has truly captured our hearts - it is the people instead. Of all that we had to leave behind it is our new friends that we will miss the most. Thank goodness for technology - at least we will be able to keep in touch via the internet!
Many thanks to all of you who have prayed for us while we have been away - your prayers have been instrumental in making our placement such a success. We know that God has kept us safe in His hands the whole time.
So, for now, this is the end of our Australian adventure. We have about 10 days to get things straight before the girls go back to school and then another two weeks before college starts for us. We have our placement reports to write and our presentation to put together, but we will be taking some of the time ahead to have a break before all the hard work begins again!!!

August 24th

The more astute among you will notice there was only an abridged version of August 23rd - this is because of our rather long (and slightly extended) return journey home. We arrived home at 8.30pm UK time after travelling for 37.5 hours!!! Our first plane developed an electrical fault on the runway which took two hours to sort out but the pilot made up time so we were only one hour behind schedule on arrival at Dubai. However, that plane had a technical fault resulting in two more hours delay, and a further 15 minutes after 9 passengers went missing and their baggage had to be off-loaded. Thankfully we had allowed enough transit time before our train home so no more problems there and we arrived home safely - Praise God!

We have now been awake (on and off) for about 48 hours - so are suffering a little from exhaustion. We'll add a final entry to this blog once we are feeling slightly more awake!

August 23rd

Alas, a final blog entry from Australia!! We have sorted the apartment out, packed the last things and are ready to go...just waiting for Ian and the bus to go off to the airport.
Today has been a day for doing last things. We walked along the top of Kangaroo Point cliffs and then down the steep stairs to catch a ferry over the river. We swapped to a CityCat and went all the way up river to the final stop - Bretts Wharf. The weather has been absolutely glorious - superb sun and blue sky. After a stop off for a final play at New Farm we came back and ate barbecued beef sandwiches cooked on an outside BBQ. Then a final wander along to South Bank to look at the beach and grab a last delicious ice-cream.
Now it is time to leave, Ian has just arrived so off we go!

August 22nd

Well, today is technically our day off – but as our real involvement with South Bank finished yesterday I guess today has been a holiday instead! Ian drove us down to Sea World on the Gold Coast.

We saw loads of animals - including polar bears, sharks, a dugong and sealions. There were several really good shows which we went to and we went on some rides as well. One of the polar bears was amazing – he played with a fish in the water just in front of us – awesome. We also saw sharks swim by closely to the viewing window in the shark pool – so cool. The dugong was called Pig!

Beth was delighted to see Polar Bears for real (they are a passion of hers), Abi enjoyed seeing dolphins up close and Bex enjoyed the sealion show. It was a fabulous day out. I went on a roller coaster by myself and absolutely adored it. I went upside down in a loop and then did a corkscrew. I guess I was upside down, upside down – technically the right way up for a second or two!! We finished the day by going on the monorail right round the park.

Ian brought us back to South bank and we had dinner at Amici's which was lovely. Then a last walk beside the river, a play in the playground and then a walk home along to Kangaroo Point cliffs.

August 21st

We had our last meeting with Ian this morning. We discussed the Prayer Wheel event which happened yesterday. We all were very positive about the event - we felt it had gone really well and that it had offered people the opportunity to pray in different, non-threatening, ways. Ian wants to get feedback from people next week to let other people know about what went on and he also wants to run another event in a month or two's time. He sees the prayer wheel gathering momentum.

In the afternoon Ian took us to Greenslopes Baptist church to have a chat with the pastor there - Graeme. Graeme showed us the buildings and church and we had a chat about the ministry of the church. It is interesting to see the differences between Australian and UK churches.

Late afternoon Kerry brought the bus to take us up to Paul and Cassandra's for a meal (they are a couple from the church, Paul (a Canadian) is studying at Malyon College). It was lovely to spend some time with them, and with Nancy and Kerry as well. Kerry drove us home and we said goodbye for the last time and waved them off.

More packing this evening - still wondering how we are going to fit everything in!

August 20th

Today was our last Sunday here - shame! It was the church's anniversary today and they had the President Elect of the Baptist Union of Queensland - Lorraine Walker - who preached. Goodness - two women preachers in less than a month! The morning service went really well - including my speedstacks demonstration in the children's talk about choosing good foundations - Christian's need to build on Christ. We had prepared a presentation as a thank you but because of technical hitches with the laptop at church we had to show it without sound. Ian thanked us for our involvement in the church and gave us a beautiful book called 'The Great South Land' which funnily enough was the title of the song that we had chosen to accompany our presentation. People have written some lovely messages to us in it.

After lunch at McDonalds (a most interesting Sunday lunch) we just had time to complete the communion service leaflet and get back to church for the Prayer Wheel Event. With only half an hour we managed to get nearly everything done but people began arriving before we were totally ready - Jon needed to get the photocopying of the service leaflet done, but someone was photocopying the womens' meeting devotions leaflet as more people wanted copies – it's taking over the world!!

We did communion as a guided service with led responses. We gave people the opportunity to share what God had laid on their hearts – and a couple of people spoke, though with a bit more time others might have been willing to share as well.

Once communion was finished we all took lots of photos of each other while we waited for the pizzas. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and were able to give our thank you cards to the church. Ian thanked us again at the end. Then more photos were taken and we swapped e-mails before we all came back to the flat with Kerry and Nancy for coffee.

We are both tired but glad that today seems to have been a real blessing to the people in the church.

August 19th

This morning we did some preparation at the flat, then went to church and did some more. I drew up the outline of the new building for one of our prayer spaces (not bad, even if I say so myself) and Jon did lots of photocopying.
Once we were finished we went down the beach and the girls and I went swimming. The girls got hungry so Jon went and got chips. The girls played again while I sat and read, same as Jon. Then they got hungry again so Jon went and got a plate of Chinese food – Bethany particularly liked beef in black bean sauce, Abi liked the sweet and sour beef – then he went off again and bought Abi and Bex a Dagwood Dog each (see EKKA entry!).
The girls pleaded with me to make a sandcastle together - they said I was really good (I told them I had been taught by an expert!!!)
When we got in we found that Ian had sent us some photos for tomorrow, so we put the presentation together. It took longer than we had thought so when we had finished it was nearly dark (5.30pm - even after 5 weeks it is still weird and we can't get used to it at all.)
Having come along by Kangaroo Point Cliffs last Monday night, we thought we would go and have a proper look at them as they are floodlit at night. We took sausages in the hope of using an outdoor bbq but all of them were being used, so we came back and ate them at home.
This evening has been a mix of things - we have done yet more preparation for tomorrow, planned the children's story for the morning service, packed one suitcase and wrote our goodbye cards - not bad for one evenings work! Sunset tonight over Mt Coo-tha was fantastic again - Jon is getting a lot of practice with his camera...we have MANY sunset shots now.

August 18th

This morning began with Ali going out to do a little more shopping in one of the many shopping complexes along Queen Street Mall. The aim was for Ali to go early and get back in time for us all to go to the beach this morning, however what with labyrinthine shopping centres and ferries advertising the wrong destination (was easier to tell where they were going by watching out for the direction they came from rather than the signs on the boat,) Ali only just got back in time for Ian to pick me up and take me along to the UQ Foundations group.

Ian had a meeting today, so I was left to fend for myself at only my second (and final) visit to Foundations. Conversational English had very few people today - only five - and three of them were new. Because Ian wasn't there I seemed to be the default Aussie slang and complex, English word interpreter. The three new girls were all from China, and I really wished I'd worn my Redcliffe T-shirt again to help break the ice. I led one of the small groups in the Bible Study meeting afterwards. This was a little tricky because most were still learning English, but they worked quite well together, often talking Chinese to each other to explain what we were doing.

We paid another, last, visit to Koorong, the Christian bookshop and had to stop ourselves buying too many books. One that made me smile is the Australian Pilgrim's Progress - for example:

On his way out of the Homestead Chris had a quick word with the Watchman, Peter Porter, to ask if he'd seen any other swaggies passing by recently, heading in the same direction.
"Yeah," said Porter, "As a matter of fact I have. A bloke about the same age as yourself."
"Did you catch his name?" asked Chris.
"Yeah - I asked, and he told it was Faithful, though people generally call him Fair Dinkum."
"Really! That's bonzer! I know that bloke. He's from my home town, and he used to live just a couple of blocks away from my house..."

This evening Ali went to Bridges. She played table tennis with her usual lack of flair, tried playing a didgeridoo and failed miserably, played a board game and got virtually none of the questions right, and had a really great time. There was a really interesting (that word again!) discussion about church membership which really helped clarify the value of, and need for, membership within a Baptist church community.

August 17th

After spending the morning trying to get on with preparation for the prayer wheel I went off with Ian to the pastors' meeting. I was able to share about the Prayer Wheel event there. The pastors at the meeting said it was a shame we hadn't had much opportunity to visit other churches. We prayed together and they prayed for our journey home which was lovely. (Left to right: Sue, Graeme, Ian, Don and Col)

After the meeting Sue (a pastor in all but name) and I went for a coffee and a chat. We shared our stories and I discovered that she has been instrumental in creating a way forward for women in Queensland in Baptist ministry, but still retains the title 'Ministry assistant' which annoys her! She said in the last 12 months that women are being recognised as being able to be pastors, but that it would take years for things to really change for the better.

Sue brought me home and shortly after Jon and the girls got back from visiting the park. On the way home they saw three lizards, one snake and a heron by the river's edge.

Jon led Home Group this evening and said it was an interesting study based on Psalm 137 with lots of difficult questions on the last couple of verses. It seems strange to be doing things for the last time. We are realising just how much we could do if we had the time. We seem to have barely scratched the surface with what we have been involved in – maybe another 6 weeks might do it!

August 16th

Yesterday completely tired us out so it took us a while to get going this morning. We spent this morning and most of this afternoon preparting for the Prayer Wheel event, though late afternoon we took the girls out for a bit of fresh air. Ian had said that today was a public holiday so people can go to the EKKA. This was especially noticeable when we were coming home because usually around 5pm it's really difficult to cross the road because of the traffic. Tonight, though, there were hardly any cars and we crossed the road really easily!

This evening Jon went out to English conversation class. He said that there were a lot of people there - the two people who started last week as well as two new people. The group had a lot of fun and there was a lot of discussion going on. It is encouraging seeing new people coming every week and becoming a part of the group.

August 15th

Today we went to the EKKA - the Brisbane National Exhibition where there are fairground rides, animals are exhibited, people enter competitions for craft, etc. and there are shows and loads of other stuff. Ian had suggested we went as it was an experience not to be missed! He was right...it was amazing! It was very busy - and we have been told that there is a holiday tomorrow (People's Day) so people have the opportunity to go - so goodness knows what that would be like with even more people there! Not only that, but Thursday is a school holiday as well for school kids to be able to go to the EKKA.
We saw loads of animals being exhibited in competitions - cattle, dogs (like Crufts), fish, etc. and there were quilts, paintings, fruit displays, sugar craft (which had to be seen to be believed, some were so good they didn't seem real) and lots of other things as well. We were able to see baby emu which are all stripy and very sweet as well as other baby animals.
The show is known for its Showbags - selections of sweets, toys and other things. Showbags originally started as a free sample bag that were given to visitors at the Show. Now, a single Showbag can range from $1(40p) to $50(£20) depending on its contents. The Showbags are mostly popular with young children and teenagers. We worked out it was worth looking at what you got before parting with your cash - some were much better value than others. There may be details in the show guides you can buy on the day, but we had already checked out the bag contents online and in a show-guide that came with the local paper last week. We all got one bag each!
The finale of the day was a show in a big arena which had motorcycles do aerial tricks, cars racing around doing some cool driving, a girl was shot out of a cannon, a man rode a bison and 50 people did whipcracking simultaneously. The finale was fireworks (ooh, aah). They were pretty cool!
Jon and the girls each had a Dagwood Dog (traditional EKKA food) – a sausage dipped in batter on a stick, usually dipped in tomato ketchup – a sort of meat lolly! We also had Fairy floss, candy floss in the UK. All in all a good day but so tiring!

August 14th

Played tennis with the girls this morning before Ian arrived. They are hitting the net more often than not! When Ian arrived we went over last weeks activities with Ian and discussed the programme for the week. We are going to have to spend quite a bit of time preparing for our prayer event but we will be involved in all the same things as the last few weeks as well.This afternoon we had to go food shopping again. I shall be so glad when I am not having to live week by week as it is challenging to manage meals and budgets! I had not thought that this would be quite as tricky as it has been.

This evening I went along to sit in on the deacons' meeting. I have only been to one meeting before quite a while ago and I found it a worthwhile experience.

I forgot to say yesterday that a lady at church gave us a crucifix orchid to look at. She said they are quite prolific over here and she has loads in her garden. It is a shame we can't bring any back as they are truly beautiful. She also gave us a custard apple to try - not so beautiful. Still, shouldn't judge a book by its cover. We are going to all try it and see what it tastes like!
P.S. - Custard Apples have a very intense sweet, melon-y flavour, but have a more gooey, sticky texture.

August 13th

This morning's service went really well despite a couple of logistical hiccups at the start. There were a couple of changes in the order of service which I found a little disconcerting but it didn't seem to matter in the end. Jon's preaching was well received - seems his accent wasn't as much of a problem as had been anticipated! Many thanks again to those who have been praying for us. It is a priviledge to be used by God in His service.

Jon stayed at church for a special church meeting about their building project while I took the girls back for lunch. Once the meeting was over Kerry and Nancy came with the Edmobile and drove us up to Toowoomba to a viewpoint called Picnic Point. (They said they hadn't been up there for a couple of years!) The journey took over an hour each way, so we had a great chance to catch up with Nancy. The views from Picnic Point were breathtaking. It is an amazing thing to be able to look out over such a great distance. The Great Dividing Range is awesome, and just goes on as far as you can see. God has made some wonderful things!

We got back just in time for bed (for the girls - not us!) and we have done some preparation for next weekends prayer event and watched a movie.

August 12th

I took the girls down the beach this morning to free Jon up to prepare his sermon for tomorrow. It was really hot today and Abi and I have got a bit sunburnt. The girls went in the water and dug in the sand while I reviewed what I had already prepared for the service tomorrow.

After lunch we walked along Kangaroo Point cliffs to Story Bridge. We walked over the bridge which is incredibly high. None of us could imagine wanting to do the Story Bridge walk which goes up and over the top of the bridge! Once we had walked all the way over we crossed over to the other side under the road and walked back. The views were fantastic.

Jon has worked all evening on his sermon while I finished my planning for tomorrow. Again we have found it difficult this week to fit in all the preparation for Sunday, as well as the other events we have been involved in. Having only one laptop between all of us has proved to be more of a challenge than we thought! And living in a fairly small apartment has added its own complications. Working in the same room as the TV, kitchen, dining room, lounge is hardly a quiet environment suited to study and preparation!

August 11th

Jon had the opportunity to visit the same couple as last time (two weeks ago). The lady had been at the womens meeting yesterday and had taken a copy of my devotions home with her - she has already given a copy to her neighbour.

While he was out I did some preparation for Sunday. Jon got back just before lunch and I went straight out with Ian to the Foundations group. They were having a pancake party to encourage newbies to the group. There seemed to be more people round and the conversational English class (based around a newspaper article on the water shortage here) attracted a bigger group than the previous time I was there. Afterwards we moved into a time of games followed by worship. As we were waiting for the games to begin I spoke with one girl, from Hong Kong, who happened to have been born in England – near London! Her parents moved back to Hong Kong when she was about 5 so she doesn't remember much about the UK.

I took the girls along to South Bank, leaving Jon to work on his sermon once I had got home. Ian rang me while I was out to tell me youth group wouldn't be happening so having got back and told Jon, he decided to go to Bridges. As we arrived home we found Jon taking pictures of the beautiful sunset - the colours were amazing!

I didn't say anything yesterday but we heard about the news from the UK at around 7pm Australian time. It is a weird experience to know all that is going on back home. We are hoping it won't affect our journey back which is coming all to quickly - we can't believe we've got less than two weeks left!

Jon has just got in from Bridges - he found the group really encouraging tonight as he saw the young people really starting to build relationships with each other and grow as a group. When he gave out a leaflet advertising the prayer event we are planning, they were all shocked that we are going home so soon. They can't believe it any more than we can!

August 10th

Jon took the girls to a new park nearby while I went and led the devotions at the women's meeting. It went really well - they asked if they could have a copy of what I had prepared to let everyone take one home! I had to leave early so Jon could go out and got back just in time. Jon had just had a call from Ian - so he rushed off to the church to meet up with him.

Jon went with Ian to the pastor's meeting - there were three other pastors there from two churches. He was struck by the fact that both churches had significant missionary programmes overseas. Peter Law, who spoke at Malyon yesterday, shared more about his organisations work. It was good to be able to learn more about what is happening in Eastern Europe.

This afternoon we managed to visit the beach, after I had finished my preparations for Home group this evening, to keep the girls entertained for a while.

Ian picked me up for Home group in his mini (he had told us previously that it has dodgy brakes!) which was an experience in itself. This week there were two children and five adults so there was more discussion during the study this week.

August 9th

Today we went to visit Malyon College, the Baptist training college of Queensland. Kerry showed us round then after morning tea we had the opportunity to sit in on a tutorial, while Nancy, Kerry's wife - who works in the office - took the girls to a local playpark.

After the lecture we went to chapel – what is it about colleges and chapel on Wednesdays? The worship was really great, then Peter Law, the founder of Crossover Communications International, spoke about mission and living life on the front line for God. Ian is part of this same organisation and knows Peter – so it was good to hear a bit more about what the mission does.

We stayed for community lunch and chatted with some of the students. It was a good opportunity to learn more from people in different churches in South Queensland.

Once lunch was over Ian drove us back to the city so we could pick up some food. A short ride home on the ferry gave us just enough time to do some service preparation - Ian has asked me to lead the service this week, not the one after as that one is their church anniversary service - then I dashed off to English conversation class. Ian had me lead a session about remembering things – looking at a picture then asking questions about what the class member's could recall. People who know me well know that I don't feel comfortable doing things without much preparation, but I think it went ok!

August 8th

We got up ridiculously early (6.15am) to catch the train up to Australia Zoo. The journey was really easy, with some fabulous views of the Glasshouse Mountains as we arrived. The zoo was really good – the whole day focused around the Crocoseum – with four shows back to back - a snake show, a tiger show, a bird show and a crocodile show which lasted over an hour. We saw loads of crocodiles, more cute wombats and several Tasmanian devils (which are cuter than the cartoon would have you think!).

When we got back we took the girls to the IMAX to see a movie called Hoodwinked – which the girls loved. It was pretty impressive on the large screen and a very cleverly put together movie.

More prayer event preparation this evening - and Jon has to fill in a form for the Australian census. How bizarre that we are included!

August 7th

We spent this morning reviewing last week with Ian and covered this weeks plan. We then arranged our placement project with him - a prayer event due to happen on our last Sunday here. There is a lot of preparation needed to get this together which we will have to start this week.

There seems to be a lot of things coming up, we will be going to the Baptist College on Wednesday after the change in our arrangements for last week. We will be going along to all the regular events that we have already been involved in - English conversation, Home Group, local pastors' meeting, etc., but in addition Ali will be leading the devotions at the womens' meeting on Thursday and Jon will be involved in the youth group on Friday.

This afternoon Kerry took us to the Gold Coast - the journey is a good time to talk about church and about our ministry as well.

The Gold Coast is a magical place with golden sands and huge rolling waves. The girls and I all got soaked, several waves took us by surprise and we got our trousers/shorts all wet! It was really blowy, but absolutely - take your breath away - beautiful! I found several fan shells which are gorgeous!

This evening we did planning, but are struggling with getting thoughts into words.

August 6th

We managed to do our preparation last night for today's service, but it did take some time and we felt really tired this morning. Jon lead the service and I did the children's talk and we both shared our testimonies. We are so aware that God has been with us as we have organised things as the service, with Ian's message and our participation, along with communion really worked together well with one theme coming through. We are also so grateful to God for providing us with the strength to serve Him even when we don't feel we have the energy. We think people are beginning to treat us as a proper part of the church - more people are talking with us and we have been invited out to dinner!

In talking with Kerry after the service, he offered to take the girls out to Ipswich, to a playpark they had seen on Wednesday that we hadn't been able to go to, while we tidied up at Kangaroo Point apartments. While they were out we cleaned up ready to hand the keys over tomorrow and had the opportunity to have a nice quiet lunch together. Bliss! We feel this afternoon has made a big difference to our energy levels - Kerry has helped us more than he thinks!

Jon went to the evening prayer meeting at church, which he found to be a valuable opportunity for sharing and prayer.

August 5th

Today we went into the city where Jon and the girls took me up City Hall clock tower so I could see the view and the bell rang 12noon while we were up there – it was really loud! They then took me to Roma Street Parklands - which are lovely. Beautiful flowers and ingeniously designed waterways and garden areas.

Late afternoon we went up to the apartment where we will be staying for the rest of our time here. Once the couple, who are travelling for several weeks, had left we went back to collect our things. We are so grateful for this provision which will save us some money (God is so good!) but I am now completely exhausted. Jon has some preparation to do as he is leading the service tomorrow, I still have to read through my children's talk, and we are giving our testimony! The fun never ends!

August 4th

Ali has gone out with the Bridges group for a social evening this evening, so I am writing today's blog entry.

We started today with Ali going to visit the lady that she and Ian weren't able to visit earlier this week. She found the visit both encouraging and interesting.

After the visit we had a little time, so we visited the local Christian bookshop - 'Koorong', and tried not to buy too much. The stores amazing; there is a small adventure playground outside for kids, a play area inside for toddlers with a children's cartoon video playing, loads of books, music, videos, etc. The range was amazing, and many of the prices were excellent. If only we had Christian bookshops like this in the UK. We want to go back - but may need to pay for excess luggage if we do!

We got back just in time for me to go with Ian to the University to join with the Conversational English class and Bible Study group. The class was interesting, and the Redcliffe t-shirt was a talking point again with the Chinese students in both groups.

Ali's just got back. She had scones and jam at 9.30 - someone said it was a very English thing to do, but Ali said not at 9.30pm! There was a lot of discussion about accents, and apparently someone said I sounded like Jamie Oliver - I guess it's an improvement over being told I sound like Tony Blair yesterday, but I'm not too sure.

August 3rd

Jon took the girls into the city today to visit the City Hall and go up the bell tower and then on to Roma Street Parklands – a large inner-city park that has been transformed from being railway sidings in the past ten years. It has been landscaped very cleverly and is quite beautiful. The girls loved the play park and the water features.

While they were out I went to Gold and Silver – a group for the older people in the church that happens once a month. Most of the people there seemed not to know who I was – or had forgotten, rather ironic seeing as the mornings focus was on memory training. I shared a little more of my story with them – I did try and speak slowly but it would have been better if I had been able to use a microphone.

In the afternoon I went with Ian to a local Baptist pastors' meeting. Very interesting to hear about what the issues are that they are dealing with.

When I got back everyone was still out so I went up to visit the flat we are going to house-sit from the weekend. Hopefully it will be a lot quieter than where we are now.

Jon went along to Home Group this evening with Ian and his son. They met in the house of a man from Papua New Guinea and he was there with his son and a lady from India. The home group went well, it was interesting to see how open people were even though Jon was a new person in the group. The discussion did struggle a bit at times with only a few people.

August 2nd

(Apologies for the late posting but our internet connection dropped out yesterday evening. Blog entries may be a little infrequent for the next few days.)

Change of plans for today – we had thought we were going to visit Malyon College – a local Baptist college - but this will happen next week instead. Instead I went with Ian to visit an elderly lady who lives in a care facility. Unfortunately she was attending a service that began moments after we arrived, Ian said he would try again later in the week. When I got back we took the girls to a new park – Pineapple Park - that Jon discovered yesterday on the way home. They played for a bit then we took them to KFC – instead of beans and coleslaw they offer mashed potato and gravy! Ian was so surprised when we told him!

He took us to visit a Baptist church in Ipswich, south west of Brisbane. The pastor, a good friend of Ian's shared with us all about the church. It has only recently bought an old sports centre and they have renovated it beautifully. It was interesting to discover how the move affected the church as a whole.

The church has a strong focus on discipleship despite having three quite separate services and congregations. We were struck by how ambitious the pastor's vision for the future is.

This evening Jon went to the English conversation class again and led a session about the weather and whether! There were a few people away, particularly some of the helpers from the church, but it still went really well with the dozen or so who were there.

August 1st

Today was our day off and we took the girls to see a film called 'Over the Hedge' in a place called Hawthorne, up river from Brisbane. The cinema was really quaint. There was only one choice of popcorn (salted), and the screen had curtains! We didn't see one advert on screen before the film - very unusual compared to cinemas in the UK.

In the afternoon I took the girls back to New Farm park while Jon went back to the apartment to do some sermon preparation.

After the park the girls and I went into the city to buy postcards. There were several(!) souvenir shops; the Aboriginal didgeridoos, boomerangs and decorated material items were amazing to look at!

July 31st

While waiting for Ian to arrive for a meeting with us, we spent the morning organising the placement project that Ian has asked us to plan. Once he had arrived we discussed this weeks activities, and reviewed last week.

Things planned for this week include: going to the Baptist college here and sitting in on a lecture, more conversational English, Home Group, Bridges Group, leading next Sunday's serviceas well as doing the children's talk and giving our testimonies and some other things as well!

This afternoon Kerry drove us up to Brisbane's Redcliffe - it's just not the same as ours! He took us to visit his parents (they know about us via Jon's family and Kerry), then on to Wynnum.

July 30th

Today went really well.- thanks to all who were praying for us! God really used our ministry throughout today and it was clear He was at work as everything each person had planned individually worked together with a clear message coming through it all.

We spoke to a lady called Joy, her husband had e-mailed Ian and offered us the use of their flat while they are away (they are travelling for 8 weeks). We have agreed to go and visit this week and it looks like we will go and stay in their place. It should save us some money! (Shame they aren't going any earlier!)

This evening we went along to the evening service that happens once a month. It is called The Living Room and they had an aboriginal didgeridoo player, Billy Williams, as the guest. The whole evening was brilliant. We had a great time of worship with some Australian songs that we didn't know as well as some songs we did know.

One guy from the church sang us a song he had written - really cool. Billy Williams gave his testimony which was very powerful and played the 'didge'(!) Jon had an opportunity to have a go and was reasonably successful!

July 29th

Jon got up early to go and help at the garage sale at church which started at 6.30am! The weather was glorious compared with yesterday – complete opposite – with cloudless blue skies and strong sunshine. I did more preparation on my sermon and the girls amused themselves. Jon came back late morning and after lunch we went along to South Bank so the leaflets advertising The Living Room could be handed out. We stopped off at the beach to keep the girls happy. This evening has been full of preparation for both of us – I preach tomorrow while Jon has the childrens talk to do as well as lead devotions before the church's AGM.

July 28th

This morning Jon went and did some visiting with Ian, and because it was raining the girls and I stayed in the apartment. The girls played together while I worked on my sermon – again.
When Jon came back we swapped over and I went to a student bible study group. We had an unaccompanied worship session! A new Christian gave their testimony and then the group split into two parts to discuss a bible study about 'Walking in the Spirit'.

I got back around three and did some more preparation work as Jon and the girls had gone out This evening Jon has gone to lead the study at the Bridges group. He said he got asked lots of difficult questions, but it was really good.

July 27th

Rebekah's 12^th birthday today and our day off in lieu of Tuesday. Spent the day at a Koala sanctuary, called Lone Pine, which was absolutely brilliant. The girls all got to hold one – very cute! There are about 130 koalas there as well as lots of other animals. We liked the wombats and the kangaroos. We were able to go into the kangaroo area and feed and stroke them. Abigail loved the two gorgeous dingoes and Bethany got to stroke a snake! We also saw a birds of prey display and Rebekah got to go up and hold a barking owl. Just before we left the rainbow lorikeets were fed and there were loads of them, all flying overhead and squawking – they are really beautiful birds.

Jon got a call from Ian to say the home group wasn't happening so we are going to use this evening to do some more planning for tomorrow and Sunday.

July 26th

We walked into the city centre to get a couple of things and to show Jon where we walked the other day. We took the girls to the park afterwards back on South Bank, where they played and we did some reading - relevant to our placement (See, Rosemary, we have read the handbook!.)

This afternoon we went along to the beach where the girls dug and paddled while we worked on our sermons and Jon also did some reading about the devotions he is preparing for the AGM at the church on Sunday.

I went along to the English conversation class this evening and led a session on love and marriage after the ice-breaker about Aussie slang and a sentence game. I found this a little scary, but it seemed to go well. I then led a small group, me and two others, before the group finished with reading definitions of love that we had written, with Ian finishing on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as the perfect definition.

July 25th

Another morning spent planning my sermon while Jon took the girls on the ferry to New Farm Park. On the way to catch the ferry they walked along the top of Kangaroo Point cliffs and saw a 6ft carpet snake – real wildlife! At first the park seemed to be a fairly ordinary park - but after about quarter of an hour they found the playpark which was fantastic! They had built a massive treehouse/climbing frame amongst some huge banyan trees (not strangler fig trees, as we first thought) - through the roots and branches.

After dinner the girls and I went shopping, leaving Jon to do some preparation work for the home group on Thursday evening. After tea I took the girls out on a ferry trip in the dark to look at the city lights. We walked up to South Bank and went down to the CBD on a CityCat. Then we caught a ferry back up to South Bank – we were able to sit up on the top on an open deck which was absolutely magical!

July 24th

I worked on my sermon this morning while Jon took the girls to the park. Ian then came over and we discussed the proposed plan for the week. He seems to think there may not be enough to keep us busy – but I think there will be, as there are several things to prepare for this week. Proposed activities include: conversational English, visiting people, Home Group leading, University Student Ministry, Bridges Group, Garage Sale, event advertising and all that Sunday will bring with Ali preaching and an event called 'The Living Room' in the evening.

This afternoon we went along to the Museum of Queensland which was really interesting. They had so much to look at we didn't finish so we are planning a return visit next week sometime. There were exhibits of stuffed animals (never seen a polar bear so close) and lots of information about animals under threat of extinction. The girls really liked it too, especially Beth - who loves polar bears.

This evening Jon went along to a deacons' meeting while I carried on working on my sermon.

Tomorrow is our official day off, but as we have already planned to go out on Thursday to celebrate Rebekah's birthday, we are hoping to get some planning done for events later in the week that we will be involved in.

July 23rd

First visit to church today and it is nice to know that Baptists are Baptists the world over – no-one sat in the front row! But as the 'special guests' we decided to break with tradition! We were made to feel very welcome. Our first talk went OK, and after the service we had a proper opportunity to meet people over coffee. A couple of people have offered to look after the girls to free us up to get involved in the church activities.

Kerry took us for a drive this afternoon up to Tamborine Mountain. It is about 40 miles from Brisbane and is around 560m high. We took a walk through a rain forest to Curtis Falls, a small waterfall (that would be bigger if there had been rain in the last 18 months) which falls into a pool where platypus live (they only come out at the beginning and end of the day though so we didn't see any - shame!) and also where glow-worms can be found. I heard a guide say that at night the whole area is lit up. There are lots of incredibly tall trees, some of them gum trees which shed their bark and many of them have strangler figs growing on them – the seeds germinate in the branches and grows roots which reach down the trunk, each year the roots get bigger and eventually the fig kills the host tree by strangulation!
As we drove back we stopped at a view point that simply took our breath away. We were able to look out and see the mountains of the Great Dividing Range in the distance. It is truly awesome to be able to experience God's world in all its glory.

We will meet with Ian tomorrow to find out about what will happen this coming week.

July 22nd

Ian took us up to Mount Coot-tha this morning were we could see quite a distance. He pointed out the high rise building that is on the opposite corner to our apartment. We wandered through the botanical gardens where we saw bush turkeys, lots of ducks and a water dragon (a type of lizard) as well as some amazing flowers and trees.

This week has been very relaxed as Ian has given us time to acclimatise - early evening is still the time when we struggle to stay awake. It has been good to begin to get involved and we are looking forward to tomorrow when we are able to share with the church a bit more about ourselves as we do the children's talk. Ian has said he will have a proposed schedule for the next week when we meet with him on Monday morning.

Tonight the Brisbane Lions are playing Aussie Rules Football at the Gabba (diagonally opposite the apartment buildings) and from 5pm lots of people could be seen streaming towards the grounds. The car park outside our flats is full of cars and now, while the game is playing, the streets are the quietest they have been all week! As the game is being televised we have watched some of it on TV, but we don't understand the rules yet!

July 21st

Up bright and early again – for Jon at least (3.45am!). Maybe we haven't quite got over jet-lag yet! We got ourselves organised then went on our first Australian bus to the local supermarket. Really cool being able to have a really good look at what is on offer. Bizarre things like Dove chocolate (that's Galaxy in the UK), lime cordial (which is an intense green and looks like disinfectant), multi-coloured popcorn (that the girls were desperate to have, and we weren't as we thought all the e-numbers would turn them hyperactive) and a vegetable called brolliflower (a cross between broccoli and cauliflower – looks like a cauliflower but is green!). In the afternoon we walked down to the river and caught a city ferry upstream to a place called Sydney Street. We then caught a CityCat back up river to North Quay. Once home we did some preparation work for our childrens talk for Sunday.

This evening I went to Bridges (a student group) at the church. There were 9 people including me from several different countries. We played a few games, then Ian did a short talk about Baptism and Communion. As we left one girl said I had a very attractive accent, like Keira Knightly, and I spoke proper English – I said I was very flattered!

July 20th

Went on a walking tour of the city today. Started off going over Goodwill Bridge, past the Botanical gardens, where Jon left us to go and join Ian for a local pastors meeting, round through the city – there are quite a few beautiful Art Deco buildings and loads of amazing high rise towers - then back to the apartment. Jon's meeting involved several local pastors and he found it interesting finding out the Baptist churches in the area and some of the positive things that have been happening recently, but also some of the challenges they have been facing.

In the evening we went up to Kangaroo Point again to look at the city at night. The girls were fascinated by the idea that the stars were completely different to the ones we normally see, but found the evening a bit chilly. The city lights were pretty though, and while we were looking out a bat screeched and flew over our heads!

July 19th

This morning we all went to look at Kangaroo Point Cliffs. The city looks amazing – the cliffs are quite steep and the view from the top gives a great vantage point to look over the central business district. We walked back along the base of the cliffs and saw a couple of people rock climbing. Having stopped for a coffee we then got organised and took the girls to Streets Beach. The sun was really hot and the water was icy cold. Jon sat on the beach, I paddled and the girls got themselves all wet – they are much braver than us! The water was so cold it was almost painful to stay in it for long. Lunch back at the apartment – much more successful (Australian sausages, potatoes and beans) then the girls and I went to the park and beach again leaving Jon behind to do some preparation for his sermon. After tea Jon went along to the church to join in with the conversational English class. I got the girls to bed – it is so weird them wanting to go to bed from around 6.30pm and that includes Rebekah! The girls have dropped off the sleep last night and tonight so fast it is amazing!! I did fall asleep while Rebekah was having a shower but I've dragged myself off the sofa to type this while I wait for Jon to come back.

Jon came back at around 9.30pm. He had chosen to wear his Redcliffe t-shirt – the one with Chinese characters on it – Knowing, Being, Doing – and there were several Chinese people there who understood what it said. He said there was a Japanese girl there who said that the Japanese use the same character set as the Chinese but they make different words – instead the characters read 3 different boys names!!!

The group played some games and had drinks and snacks which included jelly! The jelly was because someone had mentioned it the previous week and there were people who didn't know what it was.

We are all still flaking out late afternoon - 5-7pm is the trickiest time but we think this is because we are getting up so early rather than jet-lag.

July 18th

It was extremely odd going to sleep so early last night. We all woke up a couple of times during the night but strangely all at different times. 6am, however, saw us all up, and we ended up having breakfast really early! Neither Rice bubbles or Kelloggs cornflakes taste quite the same here as in the UK, but we think it is the milk that is making the difference. We are going to try and find some different milk today - easier said than done as there seem to be loads of different types! Beth tried Australian marmite but isn't impressed, maybe we'll try vegemite next.

By 8.30am we decided to go out for a walk and we wandered along to South Bank again. We walked over the Goodwill Bridge which gave us some phenomenal views of the city and Brisbane river, then we carried on to visit a play park to get rid of some of the girls' energy. Another meander helped us to find a tourist information place, a grocery – where we bought cordial (that's squash to the Brits), and a place to buy postcards. Yes – I know we haven't really done anything yet but the girls want to send one each to their classes at school and we haven't much time to send it before the summer holiday starts.

Back to the apartment for lunch and then Ian came over. He offered to show us some more of the city and take us shopping again – the girls had eaten nearly all of the bread we bought yesterday and we needed some other things as well as choosing some milk! We saw the main streets in Brisbane, the CBD (the central business district), some of the neighbouring districts and drove over the river about 4 times – there are a lot of bridges in Brisbane. Once we had done some more shopping, we came back and grabbed a coffee and went to sit on the balcony to chat - the traffic was a bit noisy but it was nice to sit in the sunshine. We found out a bit more about Ian and discussed our aims for the placement. The placement really begins tomorrow when Jon is going to go and join in with the conversational English class in the evening.

Tea was pizza – surprisingly another problem for two of the girls, then a game and bed. We dozed off for a moment but are now trying to stay up so that we don't get up quite so early tomorrow morning. Jon is watching the Bill - a traditional Aussie programme - NOT! He has also found out that Dr Who is on next Saturday - the beginning of the last series and Emmerdale!! We have seen Aussie versions of Deal or No Deal, Torville and Dean's Skating on Ice and Big Brother, maybe things aren't so different over here after all!

July 17th

I woke around 5am and had the privilege of flying towards the dawn as we approached Brisbane. We banked sharply twice over Brisbane before landing were it took ages to get through customs as three planes arrived at the same time!

Still, got there eventually and were met at the airport by Kerry Connell (friend) and Ian (Pastor and supervisor), who had brought the church minivan to collect us! It was good to meet Ian who we had only had e-mail contact with so far. He prayed for us all once we and all our luggage had been loaded into the minibus before we set off for the church. Ian arranged to meet up with us tomorrow afternoon and left in his red mini.

Kerry took us into the church to use the 'restrooms' and look around. We found out that they have 'morning tea' after the Sunday morning service and there is to a special one – in our honour – this coming Sunday!!

Kerry then took us for a walk to stretch our legs again along to the South Bank. The sky is gloriously blue and very clear. It is quite warm in the sunshine! We saw the purpose built beach – a bit weird in the centre of a city! Then we went back to the minibus – from here on known as the Edmobile – and went to Kerry's house in Mitchelton. He offered the girls some books to read – Bex being her usual self refused any at all so Kerry suggested going to a local charity store – I forget what he called it – and we got a couple there – I spent my first Australian dollars! Kerry took us home then popped out to do an errand while we were able to send an e-mail home to let family know of our safe arrival. This was 12 noon Brisbane time so it would have been about 1am back in the UK.

Kerry came home and bought us 'Aussie' pies and sausages for dinner – he said Nancy – his wife – would have been appalled, but he said it was the difference between a woman and a man looking after the guests! Once we had eaten he took us shopping for food to a shop called 'Woolworths' (nothing like our Woolworths really – more like Tesco or Asda). It was odd shopping there because everything was the same but at the same time strangely different. There were familiar brand names on the shelves – Nestle, Kelloggs, etc. but product names were slightly altered – Rice Krispies are Rice Bubbles over here – peculiar!

Once we had got our shopping Kerry drove us to our apartment. Abi spectacularly ran into the glass patio door and bumped her head and fell over! She said she didn't see it. Kerry said goodbye and we were on our own. Beth fell asleep watching Australian kids TV – it was a bit young for all of them but we all needed a break. We tried to wake Beth up but she kept dozing off so we decided to get something to eat about 4.30pm and then shower them and put them to bed. Showering them woke Beth up and though we let her sit up and colour while Bex had her shower, she and Abi then wound Bex up for half hour by giggling.

Jon kept falling asleep, often mid-sentence. I had to wake him up while he was holding a hot cup of coffee - he had me worried! And he keeps snoring. The time it has taken me to type this I've had to wake him 4 or 5 times because he is snoring so loudly and he has tried talking in his sleep as well. When I've done this I will wake him up and go and have a shower but I bet he will fall asleep again! (Later note: He did!)

July 16th

On waking we found we were approaching Dubai airport and we were able to watch as the dawn broke along the left-hand side of the plane. We were served breakfast ridiculously early and again the girls weren't really interested in food. The fruit salad was delicious and very refreshing. We began descent to Dubai airport which felt really weird at first. Abi again wasn't too sure about it and seemed relieved to touch down. Several people clapped! What was wierdest of all was that we took off her acupressure bands (which I had got at Gatwick - I have no idea how or why they work or even if it is only psychological) and she promptly threw up – handily into a convenient sick bag – Jon handed said item to a crew member as we left the plane. We disembarked from the plane to find our connection. Abi still looked a bit worse for wear and needed a drink so after a visit to the loo, Abi laid down on the floor resting her head on one of the pieces of hand luggage while Jon went off in search of water. He came back with a very expensive bottle of water (seeing as he had had to pay on credit card in Dirham - Dhs (UAE currency!)), saying our flight was up so we went off to find our boarding gate only to find a huge line of people and the sign saying 'Final call' for our flight. We checked in fairly quickly and got the opportunity to board before the main body of passengers as we had children!!

We went downstairs and got onto a bus to take us to the plane. The bus drove for ages across the airport and we had to leave the bus to walk up the stairs to the aircraft. As we left the bus the intense heat hit us – it was about 34C at 8am Dubai time!! I'm glad it wasn't any later in the day.

We boarded the plane – a larger one that the previous one and the seats seemed slightly more comfortable, I say seemed as we were about to spend 14 hours sitting in them and after 14 hours nothing seems comfortable! We reset our watches by another 4 hours (UK+7). Take-off was delayed because of all the late passengers coming through to departure but we took off with Abi asleep, leaning on me until we were airborne when she raised a sleepy arm said 'Yay' and then promptly fell asleep again.

Food was a problem for the whole flight – nothing provided really caught the children's imagination – bits and pieces were ok but in the main the girls didn't eat much at all. Beth was the most wide awake on this flight, both Abi and Bex slept and I dozed intermittently. We touched down in Singapore late evening. It was absolutely brilliant flying in over the city illuminated with different coloured lights – a complete contrast to the previous landing in early morning Dubai. We stayed on the plane except for a quick run up and down the gangway connected to the plane to stretch our legs – all except Beth who fell asleep the moment we touched the run-way! Take-off was simple, watches moved on again (UK+9) and I encouraged the girls to get some rest as soon as the meal trays were taken away. Beth wasn't too keen – Powerpuff girls and Taz-mania were too exciting on the entertainment system. Eventually though we all dropped off, but I was woken at one point by an air-stewardess who was checking our seat belts were fastened for a small amount of turbulence. What turbulence we did experience was mild and relatively insignificant.

I woke at 3.30am thinking it much later, and had to get to sleep again which wasn't very easy.

July 15th

Leaving for Australia today!
Dave arrived at about 11am and we handed the keys over to him for the next six weeks so he, Jo and Grace can housesit while we are away.
Once Julio had arrived they drove us to Gloucester station. We had an uneventful trip via Reading to Gatwick where we met Mum and Dad in the landside departure lounge. Had lunch at Garfunkels then went up to check-in and got the privilege of checking-in at business/first class desk! Said goodbye to Mum and Dad and went through to passport control. We spent some time looking through the big windows at the planes and the girls played with a couple of computer terminals called 'FingaBox'. Once our flight had been called we got to the departure lounge in time to see the captain and flight crew board the aircraft. Another viewing window enabled us to see the captain prepare for take-off as well as the luggage trucks loading up the plane. The girls were getting very excited by this time.
We boarded the plane once it was ready and found our seats. Abi was apprehensive as we taxied down to the run-way, she held on tight to Bex's hand and as we took off it was clear she wasn't completely confident but did say once we were airborne that 'it wasn't that bad'. Using the on-board screens we were able to watch the land drop away underneath us – amazing! Once in the air the on-board entertainment system proved to be so exciting that none of the children got to sleep for ages. It didn't help that we had re-set our watches to Dubai time (UK+3) and thus it was gone midnight immediately. The evening meal was served shortly after take-off – the girls weren't impressed by their brightly coloured plastic meal boxes with all sorts of things to eat in as well as a watch and a puzzle, nor by the hot meal. Ours was nice though but it felt a bit late to be eating. I think it was about 2am Dubai time before I managed to persuade the children to try and sleep. The seats weren't very comfortable and I don't think we managed to get much sleep at all.