our first week

It is hard to believe that we have been here for 1 week. With all that we have seen and done, I have to admit that it seems like we have been here a lot longer. This last weekend we drove down to the gold coast (1 hour south) and went to the beach. We swam in the Coral Sea (in the Pacific Ocean). The waves were pretty big so R.T. got to show the kids how to body surf. R.T. and Cas also made a big sand castle. I decided to relax on the sand and see if the sun felt any different here than it does in the states….I think that I am going to have to do some more research on that subject.
On Sunday we were able to worship at a Baptist church about 15 minutes from here. That was so cool to be able to worship with people that are on a different continent. Once again, I am reminded about how big my God truly is.
After church, we drove into Brisbane (about 10 minutes) and spent a few hours soaking in city life. We wanted to go to the Botanical gardens, but they had a big event there and they were closed. Thankfully, we have a year to see them.
One thing that we have been amazed at is the parks. Before we flew to Australia, we made a stop over in California. While there we really enjoyed their outdoor life. It was so much better than what we were used to in Missouri. Well, I have to say that the parks here are even bigger and better. I don’t think that the Australian gov’t has to worry about lawsuits. Cas and Abbie love the zip lines and the big spider web-like climbing apparatus that towers high above our heads. The parks have electric barbies (not dolls). It is great; you just turn them on and throw on your meat. The park council goes to make sure that they stay clean. There are huge grassy areas, running trails and hiking trails. I am sorry that I am unable to portray the greatness of the parks. The best thing about these outdoor spaces is that it allows the family to gather and to laugh and to enjoy the best that life offers (outside of a personal relationship with God)
R.T. has started work. It has been a bit overwhelming. He has found that with socialized medicine come lots of paperwork and wasteful spending. Instead of ordering a simple test that might cost $15, they order a whole panel (which might cost $250). When he questioned them, they said that it does not matter as the government pays for it. He will continue his orientation through Tues. at least. If they decided that they want to observe him some more, we may have to stay through the end of the week.
There is much more to say, but I know that your time is valuable and that you are not sitting without much to do in a hotel room. So for now, I will close…
Isaiah 40 “Who else has held the oceans in His hand, who has measured off the heavens with his fingers….for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket…He picks up the whole earth as if it were a grain of sand….To whom can you compare God.. The Lord is an everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.”

koalas and roos

O.k. you all, we had the most amazing day. Before we left the states, I saw that there was a koala refuge about 20 miles from Brisbane (actually it is about 10 minutes from our hotel in Darra). We went there on Thurs. This place is absolutely awe-inspiring. It is basically just Koala's and kangeroos; but, we were able to spend 4 hours walking around, sitting and starring at these amazing creatures. There were pens of male koalas, pouch koalas, year old koalas, the retirement home etc. At lunch we sat in this open air pavilion that had tree stumps holding koalas. We were probably surrounded by 40 koalas. The best part is they were quite active for the time that we were eating lunch. Cas got some great video. One of our favorite parts was the kangeroos. We went into a fenced area that housed 150 roos. we were able to walk around and feed them. I am not able to express the excitement that this brought to all of us. we were able to pet, cuddle and feed them. A great thing about this place is that they take very good care of the animals.

For those who choose to visit us, this is a place that we will take you to :-)

g'day mates

I have been waiting to use that title for about a year. Yes, we are finally in Australia. Things have been a bit unsettled since our arrival and we have not been able to get internet access. We finally were able to get access this afternoon.
The plane trip over was not as long as we expected. Of course, having movies, TV shows, and games at each seat helped our time pass rather quickly.
Upon arrival, R.T. and I left the remainder of the family at the airport while we navigated the roads and took our luggage to the hotel. This was quite the experience. Might I say, that driving on the opposite side of the road is not an easy task. Not only are the surroundings on the outside of the car very different, but some of the controls on the inside of the car are also switched. After R,T, turned on the windshield wipers several times after meaning to turn on the blinker, I told him that he had to give me a nickel for every time he made that mistake. I have to tell you that I am now the proud owner of a new australian twenty dollar bill.....and we have a very clean windshield :-) By the way, we did make it back to pick up the family about 45 minutes after leaving them.
We have also learned that round-a-bouts are not always a bad thing. Did you know that you can keep going around and around and around and around....until you decide which street you want to turn off on. At first, we were really wishing for our four way stops, but we are slowly growing to like our round-a-bouts. FYI, if you are told to go through a roundabout, that means that you head out in the same direction that you came from. If you are told to do a U ie, that means that you go 3/4 the way around.
There is so much to say, but I do not want to bother you all with the minor details. R.T. and I have been able to laugh about wrong turns and have come to appreciate having a "back seat driver". We are stressed with the details of life, but God is good and we feel completely blessed and at peace with what God has for us.
vocab: trolley - shopping cart, or cart
your welcome - no worries
"sure" - too easy

My God is so Big.....

O.K. I said that I was not going to blog until we reached Australia, but this is to big to keep to myself. When we got on the plane in St. Louis, I sat next to this lady. It was one of those situations where you are not sure if you want to get involved in a conversation with a total stranger that you will never see again or just sit and enjoy being quiet and contemplative. After about 20 minutes, I decided to talk (o.k. so maybe I just couldn't stand to be quiet any longer when there was a human sitting next to me :-) It came out early in our conversation that we were headed to Australia. Soon the lady's conversation was broken and I had trouble understanding her. It was not long before her tears started to flow. Between the tears, I was able to make out that before she sat down, she was thinking that it sure would be great to have a person sit next to her that would be an australian contact for her son who was going to be an exchange student there. After thinking that, she thought "how stupid of me to wish something that has 0% chance of happening". ( You have to remember that we are on Southwest airlines going to San Diego. This was not an international flight). But little did she know that with God all things are possible. I also found out that her husband of 26 years died a premature death last year and was very anxious about her son going so far away. I doubt that our paths will ever cross again...with her or her son, but God is so amazing in how he works. ...My God is so Big, so strong and so Mighty, there is nothing my God cannot do.

The time has come

We are leaving tomorrow afternoon. After planning for this trip for a year, it seems hard to believe that we are within 24 hours of leaving. It has been a good week. We have shared some great meals with some great friends. Friendships have been deepened and the realization of leaving these friends behind has been bittersweet.
R.T. will be attending a conference in San Diego through Sunday and then we will be staying with family in Irvine until we leave on the 29th (at 11:30 p.m.). We will be arriving in Brisbane at 6:00 am on the 1st (even though it may seem like a two day flight, we will only be in the air for 13 hours).
Unless there is some big news, I will not update the blog until we arrive in Brisbane.

under a week

We are very excited about leaving in just 5 days. This past weekend, we were overwhelmed by the love and support of our church family. We were given a going away party and we felt humbled by the amount of people that attended. We, in no way feel deserving of the deep relationships that God has given to us. I now know why Paul usually started off his letter by praising God for the friendships that God gave him. "walking the walk" is so much easier when you have dear friends who are walking the same walk.
We have had several more developments in our trip preparations. The first is that we have a place for the fluffiest member of our family. Our kitty cat will be staying with a kind gentleman in our church. Also, our house in Willow has had alot of activity this past week. We actually have a person talking with the bank.
The other development is that suitcases are in every room of the house. We usually throw things in the suitcase the night before a trip. Not so with this trip. We are planning to close the suitcases on Sunday afternoon.

whooohooo

Tonight (Wed. 3rd) we got a phone call from our consultant stating that R.T.'s medical license has been approved. We now have plane tickets and our visa's will hopefully be approved by Oct. 6 (R.T.'s first day of work). We praise God for lifting this huge burden from our shoulders. We are now looking forward to seeing how God is going to work in the sell of our house