What I did today...

Perhaps you're wondering how I'm spending my time over in OZ.  If I was staying in El Cajon with my family, it may not be quite as interesting.  People here put their pants on one leg at a time just like at home, but because it is 7,300 miles from home it garners interest!

I left San Diego at 8:50pm bound for Los Angeles and departed for Brisbane at 11:20pm.  The flight was about 13 hours and went very smoothly.  I arrived at 6:30am to find that the exchange rate had swung against the dollar severely.  In May when I handed the money changer $300 American I received $400 in Australian dollars:  this time I forked over $400 and received $412.  Unfortunately nothing is cheaper than before, but God has provided abundantly for me!

Since my arrival, I still have not been waked by the sound of my alarm.  I go to bed around 10pm or later feeling very tired and wake up at around 5am feeling very tired!  The beauty of life in AUS is coffee provided nearly all day, so there's no excuse to continue feeling tired.  The Landman family makes terrific coffee, and the teens in the house Louise and Johan informed me they have been drinking coffee since the age of two.

I started my morning with prayer and Bible reading, and at about 7am shared some "brekky" and coffee with Louis.  Brekky this morning was cereal with "full cream milk," which included prunes, strawberries, kiwi, and a mix of corn and bran flakes.  The "kiwi fruit" as they call it here looks no different but certainly has a mellow, sweet flavor unlike any kiwi I've ever eaten.

After eating we began the preparations for Joe to come over, a fellow immigrant and friend of Louis from South Africa.  Joe is a skilled electrician and Louis planned to install some canned lighting.  After laying out the lights over the kitchen area, Joe amazed me by accessing the work literally through the roof!  He removed some tiles from the roof to drill with the hole saw down through the sheetrock lid.  Louis snapped the 15 watt cans in place and the room received much needed illumination!

I spent the next hour trimming the hedges in front of the house.  Hedges are hedges wherever you are, but I had Louis take a picture just to prove that I actually did something productive here, not that you wouldn't believe me or anything.  Isn't it great that we can trim the hedge unto the LORD as well as preach?  After a minor "set-back" which involved a cord repair, things went in quick order.


After yard work and lunch Louis and I rode his scooter over to the hospital, where Louis' wife Sonja is recovering from a procedure.  While we were visiting her, we were able to meet with Phil and Linda White who brought her flowers.  It was a great to talk together, and riding onthe back of the scooter was quite memorable.  There we were, riding a scooter to "Woolies" (Woolworths) and the hospital at 80km an hour, wearing matching helmets and blue shirts.  When we stopped at an intersection, some little kids actually said hi to us, laughing in amusement.  We were quite a spectacle to be sure!

After arrival at home in the afternoon, I returned a call to Heath from Calvary Chapel in Canberra.  During our conversation I was blessed by his genuine love and support as he encouraged me to seek the LORD's will in everything I do here.  He was blessed to hear that God has put AUS on my heart, and he offered me a place to stay if God should lead me to visit.  I have no doubt that our paths with cross during this trip, and I trust that God will make the way clear.

Well, I'm off to the store to buy some fish with Louis, and I'll try my hand at some night driving on the other side of the road.  I have to hurry to be home by 7:30pm to catch the semi-final rugby match between the Brisbane Broncos and the  Melbourne Storm.  The winner will play in the final next week against the Eels.  Gotta love footy!  Be blessed in Jesus name, and continue to pray that God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven, in Australia, USA, and across the globe!