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.
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.
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.
Rebekah's 12th 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.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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!)
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.
