Hello & goodbye

Lots has happened in the last 2 weeks since I finished my exams. Needless to say it has been very good, though occassionaly a little hectic. I have been relying on the goodwill of some very gracious friends after being kicked out of my college room not long after my exams were finished. In between various trips out of Perth with Stephen & Jo (to whom the 'hello' refers), I have slept in various beds, left my bags & luggage in various houses, & borrowed various possessions from kind & trusting friends! Right now I'm staying at the house of one of my good friends from college. A lovely place with a pool, so will have to make use of that this afo - especially as its a beautifully hot day.

I think Stephen & Jo enjoyed seeing around Perth & meeting some of my public down under. It was especially cool for them to come to church, & for us to have a meal with Rory & Susan, who have been good at looking out for me since my arrival (not saying that just because they might read this!). We also hired a car & headed up north to see some more of country WA for a few nights. You have to do a lot of travelling to get anywhere near anything in this country, so it was quite a mission to cover the km's in the time, but also a good adventure! We saw some typically Australian landscape, some very cool laid back country towns (consisting of a population anywhere upwards of 200) & some beautiful beaches & national parks. The weather was hot, camping was fun & it was cool to get away for a few days even if we were moving fast.

Earlier this week, my cousin from Melbourne (Phil) flew over to visit the 3 of us for a few days. We used the chance to escape the city again... this time to a small island just off the coast - Rottnest. We sealed an amazing beach hut as our accomodation at a steal of a price, hired bikes, cooked BBQ's & generally chilled together. We spent our days cycling from one bay to the next - snorkelling, swimming, sleeping, reading & sunbathing! All slightly redder but very well rested, we returned to Perth on Wednesday.

It seemed sensible to us to leave our bags at the ferry company depot for the day on Wednesday, whilst we explored the local port town of Fremantle. It was a really good idea because we enjoyed the day there without having to haul our bags about. So, after a drink in a very cool brewery/bar called 'Little Creatures' (it aint no Bratton, the Duke!) we returned to pick up our bags just before 6pm, thinking there was an evening ferry yet to arrive. To our surprise & frustration, it was all locked up with our bags inside! Unfortunately, Phils flight to Melbourne was the following morning before the place opened. We spent ages calling various numbers - security people, the ferry company, port authorities etc, but to no avail. So, we roughed it a bit longer (i was wearing a pair of swimming trunks, which can become fairly uncomfortable after a few hours!) & collected our bags in the morning, freighting Phils back to Melbourne. When we did collect the bags, it didn't take long for Stephen, Jo & I to have a shower, brush our teeth & change our clothes - needless to say it felt very very good.

Yesterday the 3 of us visited Perths aquarium together which was fun & interesting - some massive fish! Then I said good bye to Stephen & Jo, as they have headed down south in a camper van for a week. I am now preparing to fly to Sydney tomorrow for a week of mission with a local church, which will be very exciting. Not only have I said goodbye to Stephen & Jo, but also many friends in Perth as I am now on the road until Feb 23rd.

Frustrated!

So, I am very frustrated at the moment! I just carved out half an hour to write what I feel was an entertaining, heart-felt but informative post! Unfortunately the concoction of an inadequate blog programme & my failing computer skills resulted in it being deleted before I got to post it. Time is precious this evening so no time to re-type. Needless to say I am alive & well, enjoying my time with Stephen & Jo (who also seem to be enjoying themselves), feeling chilled, but also busily preparing to depart WA for a few months on Saturday. A longer & more detailed post will follow later in the week - sorry I haven't replied to emails for a while. Computer time has been sparse of late & is only getting worse - will work on it. Off to Rottnest Island for a few nights tomorrow - sun, sand & surf!

The endless summer...

Now has begun what can only be called the endless summer. From today until 26 Feb 2007 I am free from 'the man' - in this instance, my uni degree. I intend to use it well - lots of plans for the next 3 months, which will become apparent on this site not too long after they happen!

So, yesterday I finished my last exam for this semester. I had exams on Tuesday & Wednesday as well. The first two went fairly well. My exam on 'Aboriginal history' on Tuesday was set to be a winner because I was given the exam paper a few weeks back, & I thought I could take my notes in (as I could with my other two law exams). Therefore, I was getting pysched for a substantial victory at transcripting a pre-written essay. However, a little too my surprise, I discovered the night before I could not take any notes in. It wasn't a worry though, as I managed to learn the general gist of what I planned to say & churn it out in the exam. Yesterdays exam was very hard - one of the more difficult ones I have taken, but I managed to get lots of good stuff down so hope I got the result I need.

I made up for my recent lack of social activity (due to strenuous revision!) by going out for a drink with some friends from College last night. It was a cool evening & very satisfying to watch Australia only manage to scrape a win against Italy. Not so glad about Englands loss by the same score to Argentina. Today I went out for lunch after church with some good friends, Rory & Susan Shiner. I then went for our last surf of the year with Eugene, a guy in College from Singapore who I have been surfing with lots. He has graduated & heads back home on Tuesday. Rory & Susan have kindly leant me their car, so that I can head to Perth International in a few hours to pick up Stephen & Jo. Looking forward to seeing them & hanging out... & seeing some more of WA.

I finished reading through the Bible for the second time today. Reflecting on the last 18 months & all I have learnt through that exercise is really encouraging, but also realise I still have much more to realise to even begin to plumb the depths of Gods word. If you have not done it before, I fully recommend taking a year to read through the Bible in its entirity - just 3 chapters or so a day! It may be something that proves to be very transforming, as I think it has been for me.

I move out of St Georges College on Wednesday, so no longer have a postal address. Sorry but you will be unable to send me all those expensive christmas presents you were planning to send! I will be back here in March, so will pick up any stray letters arriving at the end of this week then.

United!

Today was a day of unity...

This morning my church St Matt's had a joint service of all its 4 different congregations. It was a cool time to all meet together & here about all the different things that are going on in & around the church. It really is a massive church, with what is effectively 4 large virtually independent congregations... I kinda wondered why they don't church plant more - but apparently that is on the horizon which is really cool. After church we had lunch together, so it was good to get to know a few people a little better.

Tonight was ChurchTogether in Perth. 10 000+ Christians met in the Supreme Court Gardens, sandwiched between the CBD high rise & lights, & the Swan River. It was a very cool setting - a warm evening & full moon - & as Hillsong United cranked it up on the stage it must have echoed around the city. I have never seen fireworks used as part of a worship music slot before, but it was fairly cool - especially as I'm missing out on the whole Guy Fawkes Nov 5th vibe today. J John gave the message - good to hear what sounded like a thoroughly English accent again! Though with all kinds of Greek-Cypriate undertones. It was a good thing to have so many Christians together from many different churches - lots to learn in how to be more unified.

I actually walked to the city from St Georges with a few other guys. It was a cool walk, with some good views. Then saw the news of Saddam's sentence (to be hung) whilst gorging ourselves in Hungry Jacks (Burger King) - made me think about his evil & issues of justice... was reading what the Bible says about this in Revelation 14 this morning - lots to think about & allow to sink into my heart.

Otherwise, I have been sleeping lots - but still managed to fall asleep for 2 hours this afternoon when I was reading! I think it must be all that revision I have been doing. Maybe. This is now exam week. Hmmm.

Jaws at Scarbs!

I am nearing the end of my first semester here. The experience so far has been varied, though excellent & I reckon maturing in many ways (I hope!). I am very thankful to so many amazing blessings that God has given me, & realise these are very priveleged days. It has been so good to keep in touch with friends from home - I greatly appreciate the emails, blogs, comments, phone calls & letters.

When I think back to when Dave visited in early September, I can see how much more I have settled since then. The weeks before that were good, but also stretching. Recently, I have been motivated & encouraged by finding very obvious reasons why I am here to help & serve others, & also learn different things. I think we all thrive on having an immediate purpose in our life, & I have had a growing sense of that. This also means that the time is going fast! Now, on to some more current news.

On Saturday morning I went for an early morning surf with a friend from college (Shane), & a guy who has started coming to church recently (Ian). Ironically we surf at Scarborough beach - I think the waves are better down here than at the original Scarborough!? We got to the beach at 8am - there really is little better way to start the day than in warm morning sun, beautiful blue skies, & refreshing crystal waters... you think I'm exaggerating?! Anyway, alarms started ringing up & down the beach not long after we were in the water. Lifegueards began patrolling the water & its edge in speed boats & 4x4's, ushering surfers out of the water. It transpired on the news that evening that there was a 4 metre Great White about 1km off shore. The alarms stopped after a while, so a few of us dived back in for a surf only to be called back to shore again! Helicopters & several small boats arrived & loitered around the location of the shark, trying to guide it out to sea - we were told to carry on surfing but just keep an eye on them, in case they came close. Thankfully, I am safe & enjoyed the adventure... a good story to tell you all over & over in the future!

Alas, the inevitability of revision has arrived. Seeing that I have 3 exams next week I guess it is about time. I spend some time revising out on our balcony in the afternoon sun - unfortunately a gust of wind distributed several pages of lecture notes to the four corners of college. I received some of them back from several people who had found a random page in completely different locations. Some however, are lost for good. Other than this slight mishap, it is going well & I am glad it will soon be over leaving me free to hang out with Stephen & Jo.

I have also been challenged greatly by God in many ways recently. It has been difficult & frustrating at times, as He has put his finger on things in my life that do not match up with the good news I claim to believe in & live by. I am glad He is still patient with me & teaching me these lessons, desiring me to change. For as long as He is in the game, I'm in with a fighting chance! I'm optimistic about this one.