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 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 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 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 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!