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 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 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!

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.