Dashing through the bush, in a rusty holden ute
Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs
It's summer time & I am in my singlet, shorts & thongs
Chorus
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day
Hey jingle bells, jingle bells Christmas time is beaut
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute!
Engines getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos
Swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too
All the families there sitting by the pool,
It's Christmas day the Aussie way by the barbecue
Chorus
Come the afternoon, grandpa has a dose
The kids and uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go, we take a family snap
Pack the car and all shoot through before the washing up
Chorus
Monday, December 25, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
For old times sake....
It's Christmas Eve, hip hip hooray,
We all love this special day!
Tomorrow's gonna be even better,
We hope that Santa's got our letter!
We all love this special day!
Tomorrow's gonna be even better,
We hope that Santa's got our letter!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Travelling & all that...
Lots has happened in the last few weeks since I left Perth. After spending a week with Drummoyne Presbyterian Church (see below), which was really enjoyable & a great time to grow in all sorts of ways, I headed to the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (UCCF equivalent) 'National Training Event' (Word Alive/Forum equivalent) in Canberra. We heard talks on eschatology (the end times) by Phillip Jensen - a very clever man who spoke for well over an hour each night in great depth on complex issues. Richard Chin also gave talks on the book of Colossians - he is the director of AFES (Richard Cunningham equivalent!).
However, possibly the most rewarding thing of the week was attending a 'strand' small group that did an in depth study of the systematic theology of the resurrection in the Bible. This included considering every reference to resurrection (Jesus' in the past, the Christians in the present & everybody's in the future) in the Bible & marvelling at the centrality of this belief to the Christian message & all Christian belief. So, may sound a little heavy to some of you, but an amazing privelege to consider in such depth. The week was so good because there was such a focus on the training & growing in faith through the studies, so it really was transforming. Other highlights of the conference was hanging out with Perth people, meeting loads of new people, & playing 'stingers' - a new version of frisbee... for men only.
After NTE, I headed to a place called Campbelltown (no kidding - very ironic, should have got a picture) just west of Sydney with 20 other students from universities in Perth. We were again joining with a local church to do some Christmas based outreach. I only knew a few of the team beforehand, as most of them were from other universities in Perth so it was great to get to know another new group of people. I stayed with a really great couple from Northern Ireland whilst there, called Phil & Gayle. It was cool to spend time with them & have some good chats! The 20 of us on our team then met with another team of 20 also from Perth & we spent some time in Sydney, then went to the Blue Mountains & hiked through luscious canyons & creeks littered with waterfalls. I returned to Sydney after this & stayed with a guy called Joey who is a Leicester lad in Oz for a gap year.
Joey & I headed north of Sydney on an overnight bus to Byron Bay - a surfer/hippie hang out. On the way we stopped at the 'Big Prawn' & took the compulsory touristy photo's. Byron was very cool, if a little cloudy & wet. That didn't stop us from getting amongst it with some surfing action. It was a very good thing to be back on a board again, after a fair few weeks dry... I totally enjoyed that & didnt't want to stop even when my body had had enough. We then stopped off at Surfers Paradise a night, where we didn't surf. It isn't really a paradise for surfers, but more a Blackpool style resort in the Gold Coast theme of things. All bright lights, shopping malls, & quite a bit of tack... mind you, not half as much as Blackpool. Brisbane was our next stop, where we cultured ourselves in the various free museums & art galleries. It was really good to do, & something I should try to do more often as I see various different places.
I am now in Hervey Bay, Queensland - a few hours north of Brisbane. I'm staying with a great family, the Hoole's, with 3 cool kids (8, 9 & 11). They are the relatives of some friends from Bratton & have very kindly taken me in for several nights just before christmas. It is nice to be relaxing in an Aussie home, & seeing how they celebrate Christmas. We have just come back from the annual drive/walk around various parts of their town where house after house clothes itself in Christmas lights. It is a real attraction with half the town turning out to look at the lights. One street is even officially renamed 'Christmas Street' in the month of December due to every house bar one going overload on the lights! I will be here for the next few days, hanging with the family, playing with the boys, swimming in the pool, & hopefully reading lots!
So that brings you up to date. Sorry its a long one. Lastly, I hope you have a great time celebrating Christmas this year. Remember to take some time out to think exactly what is worth celebrating this year that will last beyond Boxing Day! God bless.
However, possibly the most rewarding thing of the week was attending a 'strand' small group that did an in depth study of the systematic theology of the resurrection in the Bible. This included considering every reference to resurrection (Jesus' in the past, the Christians in the present & everybody's in the future) in the Bible & marvelling at the centrality of this belief to the Christian message & all Christian belief. So, may sound a little heavy to some of you, but an amazing privelege to consider in such depth. The week was so good because there was such a focus on the training & growing in faith through the studies, so it really was transforming. Other highlights of the conference was hanging out with Perth people, meeting loads of new people, & playing 'stingers' - a new version of frisbee... for men only.
After NTE, I headed to a place called Campbelltown (no kidding - very ironic, should have got a picture) just west of Sydney with 20 other students from universities in Perth. We were again joining with a local church to do some Christmas based outreach. I only knew a few of the team beforehand, as most of them were from other universities in Perth so it was great to get to know another new group of people. I stayed with a really great couple from Northern Ireland whilst there, called Phil & Gayle. It was cool to spend time with them & have some good chats! The 20 of us on our team then met with another team of 20 also from Perth & we spent some time in Sydney, then went to the Blue Mountains & hiked through luscious canyons & creeks littered with waterfalls. I returned to Sydney after this & stayed with a guy called Joey who is a Leicester lad in Oz for a gap year.
Joey & I headed north of Sydney on an overnight bus to Byron Bay - a surfer/hippie hang out. On the way we stopped at the 'Big Prawn' & took the compulsory touristy photo's. Byron was very cool, if a little cloudy & wet. That didn't stop us from getting amongst it with some surfing action. It was a very good thing to be back on a board again, after a fair few weeks dry... I totally enjoyed that & didnt't want to stop even when my body had had enough. We then stopped off at Surfers Paradise a night, where we didn't surf. It isn't really a paradise for surfers, but more a Blackpool style resort in the Gold Coast theme of things. All bright lights, shopping malls, & quite a bit of tack... mind you, not half as much as Blackpool. Brisbane was our next stop, where we cultured ourselves in the various free museums & art galleries. It was really good to do, & something I should try to do more often as I see various different places.
I am now in Hervey Bay, Queensland - a few hours north of Brisbane. I'm staying with a great family, the Hoole's, with 3 cool kids (8, 9 & 11). They are the relatives of some friends from Bratton & have very kindly taken me in for several nights just before christmas. It is nice to be relaxing in an Aussie home, & seeing how they celebrate Christmas. We have just come back from the annual drive/walk around various parts of their town where house after house clothes itself in Christmas lights. It is a real attraction with half the town turning out to look at the lights. One street is even officially renamed 'Christmas Street' in the month of December due to every house bar one going overload on the lights! I will be here for the next few days, hanging with the family, playing with the boys, swimming in the pool, & hopefully reading lots!
So that brings you up to date. Sorry its a long one. Lastly, I hope you have a great time celebrating Christmas this year. Remember to take some time out to think exactly what is worth celebrating this year that will last beyond Boxing Day! God bless.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Just a passing through
Hopefully I will get more time on the internet soon, so I can update you as to what has been happening. As it is, I barely have enough time to read my emails each time I get on the internet. Needless to say, I am alive & well.
I am now on my own until Jan 22, when Anneli and Paul arrive in Christchurch, New Zealand. But God has already provided some people for me to be hanging out with & visiting for the next few weeks, which is very cool. So, I am currently in the Blue Mountains, & heading back to Sydney this afternoon. The plan is to go north towards Brisbane for a week or so seeing some sights & hopefully getting some surf. I'm going with a guy called Joey - a friend of some of my friends at uni! Only met him once, but seems like a nice guy so should be good fun.
Will hopefully post some more substantial news soon.
God bless.
I am now on my own until Jan 22, when Anneli and Paul arrive in Christchurch, New Zealand. But God has already provided some people for me to be hanging out with & visiting for the next few weeks, which is very cool. So, I am currently in the Blue Mountains, & heading back to Sydney this afternoon. The plan is to go north towards Brisbane for a week or so seeing some sights & hopefully getting some surf. I'm going with a guy called Joey - a friend of some of my friends at uni! Only met him once, but seems like a nice guy so should be good fun.
Will hopefully post some more substantial news soon.
God bless.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Drummoyne Presbyterian Church
I flew to Sydney as parrt of a team of 8 students & staff from the Christian Union at my uni to join a local church for a week of outreach. I was the 'exotic one', being the only non-Aussie!!! It has been great fun & lots has happened in the week. I have been staying with a really nice guy from the church called Dave - he has only been around for about a year so it was good to spend some time with him & talk about church. We spent the week helping out at the church, the youth group, visiting a local nursing home, advertising various events around & visiting local schools.
It was really hard work at times, but also great fun & very rewarding. I really enjoyed spending time in the schools & with younger people - they drain you emotionally & challenge you intellectually, but are also very open & interested to consider Christianity. I have lots more respect for teachers & youth workers after this week! It was also cool to get to know some guys from Perth a bit better. We got on well as a team & had some great laughs, so that was very good.
A little more disappointing has been Englands effort in the Ashes - I have taken a lot of stick so far for this one, but am standing strong... I think we have a chance. We have just had a good day with the bat in the Adelaide test, so things are looking up. I love sport, so it is good to be down here while the Ashes are on - a good point of conversation with many people!
I am off to the Australian capital, Canberra, tomorrow. It is the AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students) National Training Event - kinda like Word Alive/Forum for those of you who have been to them. Really looking forward to it, & to taking some time out for some teaching & new challenges. After that, another church outreach - in a poorer suburb of Sydney. Will be in touch soon.
It was really hard work at times, but also great fun & very rewarding. I really enjoyed spending time in the schools & with younger people - they drain you emotionally & challenge you intellectually, but are also very open & interested to consider Christianity. I have lots more respect for teachers & youth workers after this week! It was also cool to get to know some guys from Perth a bit better. We got on well as a team & had some great laughs, so that was very good.
A little more disappointing has been Englands effort in the Ashes - I have taken a lot of stick so far for this one, but am standing strong... I think we have a chance. We have just had a good day with the bat in the Adelaide test, so things are looking up. I love sport, so it is good to be down here while the Ashes are on - a good point of conversation with many people!
I am off to the Australian capital, Canberra, tomorrow. It is the AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students) National Training Event - kinda like Word Alive/Forum for those of you who have been to them. Really looking forward to it, & to taking some time out for some teaching & new challenges. After that, another church outreach - in a poorer suburb of Sydney. Will be in touch soon.
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