Update from Down Under

With less than 48 hours remaining in Australia this trip, I am amazed to think about all that has happened in that time.  My schedule has been fairly rigorous of late, and yesterday is a great example.  I visited a property and picked up a rental application in the morning, had lunch with some mates, went for caroling practice, then headed off to the Beecroft Nursing home to sing to folks, played gridiron at the park with guys from church, then went to the church building for a dinner gathering!  It was 11pm before I hitched a ride with Ian back to the Tookes and let's just say, Sunday morning came EARLY!  If you are keen to hear the message I preached today called "Dry Bone to New Life", follow this link!  (Right click and save to desktop - then play!)

Yesterday I was so happy to be able to sing carols with people from Calvary Epping and CC Sydney to the residents at the nursing home, a place I have jogged past for the last two months praying for an opportunity to serve there.  See, God does answer prayer!  I imagine it must be a lonely place to spend your days, in various stages of health and mental alertness.  I carefully observed our audience as we sang to them about Christmas and Jesus Christ.  One man in particular had my attention.  He was quiet, with large vacant eyes.  But when we began to sing, he clearly mouthed the words to nearly every song.  Every soul in that room was absolutely precious.  My heart longs to be of greater service to them in the future.  For the first time I sang the Australian version of Jingle Bells, which is hilarious.

People have been asking me if I am excited to go home to America.  Funny as it may seem, I don't see it as going home.  I am actually more excited about coming to Australia on January 3rd with our one-way-tickets than me heading back to the States.  Please don't misunderstand:  I am very excited to visit with family and friends and spend the holidays with them.  But I can't think about traveling to San Diego as heading home.  My real home is in heaven, and Australia is where I believe God will establish our family to stay for awhile.  When some people might be longing for their hometown, that is not my case.  Thinking of leaving now is very hard to imagine because it feels like we're just getting started at CC Sydney!

It's really interesting to me that I do not have a house to call my own on either side of the Pacific, and nearly all my earthy goods are at this moment on a ship on the ocean.  While my biological family is on the west coast of the United States, I truly have family in Christ on both sides of those expansive waters.  To be apart from any of them is so hard, and it will need to be that way for the rest of my days no matter where I live.  Only in heaven will we all be together!  I am reminded of one of my favorite verses in 2 Timothy 2:1-3:  "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ."  Praise the LORD, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  We can cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for us!