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 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 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 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.