Queensland
Well Queensland was great:) I stayed with 2 different families - one Irish, the other Malaysian - over a period of a week (which couldn't be shorter if it tried). I was rapt with all their stories of people who came to know the Lord Jesus as their saviour, told usually over tea. Every story blew me away. One person was saved after about 20 years of prayer from her faithful family which just goes to prove, well, so many things! James 5:16 for starters.
Another fellow was saved from the 'rough' sort of life (drinking, swearing, all that kind of thing) when he walked out on his wife one night over some disagreement and contemplated jumping into a river to end it all. But hesitated when he considered that, if there was a God it wouldn't end with death. So he asked God for 3 things to prove himself. One was to get him across the river (an impossiblility since the river was really wild that night). The next thing he asked was for his wife to take him back. And i wasn't told the third thing coz my friend couldn't remember it, but the 3 requests were answered. He jumped in and almost as if it'd been waiting there the whole time, he fell onto a log. Which somehow carried him across the river where a police car arrived with none other than his wife in the passenger's seat asking him to come back to her. Dramatic as that sounds, it's a true story and one of those stirring ones that show how God can work to save anyone using any circumstance, provided they are truly seeking him. As his wife was a christian, i'm sure she would've been praying for him to be saved and that prayer was answered so fully.
I'm really inspired by stories like these. How totally God can transform a person's life. I hope that i can witness effectively enough to lead a person to know Jesus as their saviour. The stories don't end there; but that's for another night. So that short week certainly packed a punch. Seaworld, Surfer's, Pacific Fair, Currumbin, Mt Coot-tha, Planetarium, Gold Coast, Brissy. These words are no longer just words but now have very special memories attached to them. Thank you ever so much my Lord:)
NIght at the Museum
Night at the Museum is outrageous. I laugh just thinking about it:D What a worthwhile 2nd night of 07' and a welcome distraction from that seriously whacked out sunburn i got from spending 5+ hours in the sun playing cricket, painting faces and giving kids technicolour hair spray makeovers. In other words this year has been pretty funky, very memorable and way too energy expending lol.
So new year's eve was nice. I watched the fireworks from a hilltop with May & co and about 200 other people in Newtown. It was a tops location coz we could see all the fireworks across the city at once although we missed hearing the countdown which stole the thunder a bit. But a standout moment was when some randoms staged their own *mini* firework display just a few 20 metres in front of us - a real beauty. But there hasn't yet been an idle moment and that's not looking likely to break over the next couple of weeks. I nanny again over the next 3 days so i should get myself ready for more monopoly rounds:D then Queensland on Monday. The word is like magic to my ears right now. Anticipation is reaching astronomical heights - i don't remember feeling this excited about anything since 05's trip to China. Clearly, I was born to travel:)
Hip hip hooray!!
2007 is only a couple of hours away and i feel so unprepared for it. Maybe it has something to do with having to work on the first day of a new year.. hmmm.. somehow, writing it out doesn't make it sound any more exciting than it already isn't.
But i'm certainly loving the weather. And i have Queensland to look forward to in just a week! it seems so unreal. The friends i'm visiting are very old, deeply cherished friends.. what more could one ask for to stamp a trip with meaning? looks like i'll be tripping up to Seaworld too so that should be fun. Now; i've been wanting to record my experience of Christmas so here goes:
Morning: was spent with mum, my brothers, half-sisters and family friends of theirs whom i haven't seen for donkey's years. It was another bonding session for my sibs and I, a pig-out session for everyone involved and a mini movie session squeezed in towards the end. My bros mean more to me every time i see em'. That's all i have to say.
Late arvo/evenin': was spent with the Chapmans. Leftovers + more little kids + good ol' fun on the trampoline + a neat little present + a kite against a sunset backdrop + a visit to a close friend on the way home = lots of smiles and warm fuzzy muses.
Late night: was spent with May and co. More lil kids. Dumpling and noodle soup. A funny chinese show + late night chit chat makes for your not-so-typical classic Christmas experience.
The exuberancy of my title is an expression of my collective feelings about the new year. 2006 has been truly great. Thank you God for so so much.. i look forward to walking the new year with you, my Lord and friend.
