Sheep Shearing Shed

Say that three times fast. We skipped out on some of the Saturday morning sessions at Easterfest and drove about 30 minutes west to the biggest operating sheep shearing shed. We enjoyed pancakes for morning tea and then got to see a couple of sheep being sheared. Did you know that Australia invented the tool that is being used everywhere for shearing sheep? It was great to experience yet another part of Aussie culture.

Shearing floor where 80 sheep could be sheared. "Back in the 1860's a fleece would hit the floor every 8 seconds." 3,000 sheep would be sheared a day.


Have you heard the saying "pull the wool over his eyes"? This sheep had just been sheared in front of a large crowd. The sheep shearer patted the sheep to a laying position and then put the sheep's fleece that had just been sheared over the sheep's eyes. The sheep went to "sleep" for quite a while

Australia's famous invention

poor sheep is giving his coat off his back for my sweater

Easter

(This is the second post in a row. You get to hear about mice and Easter in Au all in one day :-)
I have always loved Easter. The daffodils are blooming, gardens are being planted, the grass is turning green, the weather is moving from cold to warm etc etc. It seems like it all fits with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is so easy to get caught in the excitement of Easter while being surrounded by new life. Have you ever thought that Easter is not in the Spring for everyone? That had never crossed my mind. We get to celebrate Easter in the fall this year. (Granted, we are still experiencing 80 degree days-though Easter is supposed to be in the low 60's) We have had blooming flowers since our arrival last Oct. , so there isn't anything new in the gardens. We are not excited about warm temperature. The grass is finally slowing its growth and is not as green as it once was. Hmmmm, so what does this mean for our Easter celebration. After contemplating this issue for sometime, I have decided that Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of new life, as long as I keep my focus on Him there is heaps of celebration to be had!!!
We will be celebrating Easter in Toowoomba. This is our Springfield. It is about 90 minutes away. We will be attending Easterfest. (feel free to google it) It is a 3 day event with many Christian artists-including Audio Adrenaline and Rebekah St. James. There will also be activities for the kids like a BMX show and carnival rides. We will be celebrating this Easter with many other Christians on a different continent in a different season in an nontraditional way. BUT Praise God that in spite of all this we will be celebrating the resurrection of the same Lord and Saviour that you will be. Happy Resurrection Day!

Mice

I always thought that living in the countryside in Missouri brought about many critters. Little did I know that living in AU brings on heaps more. I was talking with a neighbor shortly after arrival in AU and she said that last year there was on epidemic and you could actually see the little creatures running around outside (not to mention, in the house). When she told me this, I was very thankful that I came in 2009 and not 2008. A couple of weeks ago, I was having tea with a friend and I saw this metal box measuring about 6 inches x 8 inches. I asked her what it was and she said that it was for catching mice. I said "you catch them live and release them" she said "no, the snapping trap only catches 1, this one catches up to 9. then we take the trap and drown them". UGH!!!
We just killed our 4th mouse since we arrived 6 months ago. We live in a nice housing development!!! This last mouse that we had was alive in the rubbish bin. It made for quite an exciting evening trying to get it drowned.
I am so praying that we don't have a need to invest in the mega mouse trap. Otherwise, I may be seeing you all before October.

Grocery Store Blessing

I really struggle with going to the grocery store here. It has never been a job that brings joy to my life no matter what my location, but it seems like living in a different country adds to the stress of getting the right ingredients for the right recipe.
Take for instance.....yogurt is not exactly sweet, what they call bacon is what we call ham (I have found streaky bacon in one store- it is a bit tougher and doesn' quite have the same cure that we are used to), lunch meat does not suit my palate and is quite pricey (3.50 for about 8 pieces), chocolate (you have heard enough about that already), mayo is just plain nasty, cheese is all white and they don't have monterrey jack (though they do have yummy feta), ice cream in the carton has a different taste, etc etc.
I was in the store earlier this week and I was NOT enjoying the experience ( I once again stood in front of the lunch meat for about 5 minutes hoping that a new cheap brand had been invented.) On this particular shopping trip I wanted to buy sliced almonds. I was making almond crusted chicken cutlets (foodnetwork.com). the recipe called for sliced almonds that you put in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth. I do not have either appliances. I was going to do the cave man way and use a plastic bag and a hammer. ....O.K. for the blessing....as I was reaching out to get a bag of sliced almonds, I saw "almond meal". The only ingredient was almonds and it had the texture of flour. HOW PERFECT!! I knew that this could only be a blessing from God. He made my dreaded trip into a worship experience.

A personal story

This is our dear pastor and his wife (Steve and Jenny). About 6 weeks ago, they took their first international trip to go and see their daughter who is a missionary in Africa. This was going to be a bit of a stressful trip as their daughter works at a lep*r hospital and is also in a country with spiritual opposition. In recent months, the small group of missionaries have suffered extremely horrific car accidents, health and family problems that required the evacuation of a couple of families. Pastor Steve was not only going to see the mentally stressful l*per hospital, but he was going to minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of the downtrodden missionaries.
Unfortunately, soon after their arrival, he was visiting the sick when one of them said that there were fires in his home country of Australia(some patients have small radios). After inquiring more, he realized that the fires destroyed the small town that he had raised his family. Through many prayers of Christian friends, he was able to do the job he was meant to do. Before returning to his home in King*roy, he and Jenny went back to their hometown. They found the home that they had lived in just three years ago, burned to the ground. Then they went to the home that they raised their children, it to was burned to the ground. Then they visited the camp that he worked for many years, much of it he built himself....it too was burned to the ground. He also visited a mate of 30 years. His mate had lost his wife and 2 teens sons in the fire.
Pastor Steve got up in church this morning and shared from I Peter 3:11 "since everything around us is going to be destroyed (with fire), what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God. We don't know when the next "fire" is going to consume us. We need to have our relationship with God in order. This was such a personal message as he had just witnessed the immense destruction of fire; and then the spiritual recognition that this is what God is saying what will happen when He comes back to judge the world.
Please pray for the emotional renewal of our pastor and his wife.

Did you know....

*Australia owns part of Antarctica

*cyclones/tornadoes really do spin the opposite way in the southern hemisphere

*Cyclone Hamish started a week ago and is already disappearing

*Australia is 3/4 the size of the US (in land mass)

*In 1954, Bob Hawke was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob later became the Prime Minister of Australia.

*Australia day - January 26, Australia day, is the anniversary of ships arriving in Sydney carrying a load of Convicts.

*The Wombat deposits square poos on logs, rocks and even upright sticks that it uses to mark its territory

*Over 90% of Australia is dry, flat and arid. Almost three-quarters of the land cannot support agriculture in any form.

*Box Jelly fish - The box jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature. The box jellyfish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined. (we get to go and swim in their territory in May - but we will wear full body "stinger suit" when we are in the water)

*People: 92% Caucasian descent, 7% Asian descent, 1% Aboriginal descent

*America's cup - In 1983, the yacht "Australia II" ended the Americans 132 year dominance of the America's cup

*Long fence - The 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.

Chimneys

o.k. So...if I would have simply titled this Hobart, who would read this? The first thing that I noticed in Hobart was the houses had chimneys. That may not be any big deal to those living in Missouri, but I did not realize that I missed the charm if chimneys until I realized that we did not have them in King*roy.
R.T. and I loved our long weekend in Hobart. As my facebook reads...."you really need to put Tasmania on your bucket list". The mixture of the ocean, mountains, harbours, trees etc make a combination that will take your breath away.



Breakfast at an outdoor cafe


The scene from our dinner table at Mure's

Australia began its history with a past that they would like to forget. Much like we would like to forget our history of slave trade. Unfortunately, it is reality and is a part of the culture that makes a country what it is. AU was first inhabited by prisoners who were shipped from England. We were able to tour the only prison that was not torn down. It was an amazing experience to share in this part of our adopted countries culture.

This is what 14 years of marriage looks like

the octopus tree. It is actually a eucalyptus tree that grew over a rock

We spent a couple of hours hiking on Mt. Wellington in Hobart.

Tassie coastline. God smiled on Australia when He created Tasmania. You could not help but stop and give God the praise that He deserves, when admiring this part of His creation.

more scenery

more scenery