Life

I hope that you are doing well. We just had a great house dinner and we laughed a lot. Deep laughter feels so good. It is like medicine. I'm really enjoying living here. Early today I went for a walk with Megs, one of my housemates. And yesterday at church Megs, Me and Kristie sat on pillows with our backs against the wall. Megs spread her blanket over me and Kristie sat on my coat since the pillows were all taken. We shared part of Krisities sandwich I had brought for her since she had to be at church early. It was a really sweet bonding moment. A guy and wife who work with Compassion showed up and spoke about sponsoring children. I have to admit that at the beginning I thought oh poor them they don't know that they've are going to share their hearts passions with a very poor group of people because most people in the Tribe are living by faith. But, afterwards I was pleasantly proved wrong as the booth was flooded with a constant stream of people who would skip away with a new child who shared their birthday, or who had liked to play soccer as well, or who lived in a high sex trade area. It was a really beautiful thing to watch as people showed off their newly adopted children to each other.

Today it has rained all day, buckets that make me feel like I'm going through a carwash. My laundry is hanging soaking on the outdoor line as we don't have a dryer. I hope a sunny day is in line for tomorrow as my underwear is getting low. I love the rain here, it is intense and heavy.

I'm reading this book called Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It is about the future of civilization, much like Fahrenheit 451 in theme. My favorite part so far was when this happy civilized people of the future venture to Santa Fe during a vacation to visit the Savages. The Savages are Indians who still give birth and are monogamous. They have dirt everywhere and mend their clothes. Everyone from the civilized city is programed from an embryo and conditioned with morals and beliefs that they repeat like robots at the push of a button. I'm enjoying it.

This weekend I'm part of a team from the Tribe that is driving two hours North to a town called Brisbane. There we are going to join a New Age Festival called Mind, Body Spirit. They are held all around Australia. We go and bring dream interpretation, spiritual cleansing, healing, and spiritual blessing. They also have stage time where they do prophetic words. The last one was a month ago and they everyone they prayed for healed, the queue was the longest of the whole festival, over 15 people were saved. If you think of it pray for us on your Thursday, Friday and Saturday because we are lights going into dark places.

Man, I wish I had a camera so I could show you all my life here, my room, little Tygar, the beach that I like to run on, where Simon works. But, my words will have to suffice until perhaps our wedding.

Vocab lesson #2

Here are a couple more words that I've been learning. Now, the best way to learn these are to take a risk and begin to incorporate them into your own life. Don't be scared... be brave and drop one word in here and there. Just like a fine sprinkling of salt on a dinner dish.

Australian/American

Cuppa/cup of tea
oua(this is just how it sounds to me, the spelling might be wrong)/afternoon
cruzy/easy going
carpark/parking lot
park/parking space
boot/trunk of a car
sparkie/electrician
dishie/dish-washer at a resturant
the letter z/zet
runners/tennis shoes


Dang . . . I know there is more. They are surrounding me here and then I forget.

Well, I guess Lesson two was shorter than I thought. Go ahead and take an early recess. We'll continue later.

Everything is cruzy

Nannying is good. I do enjoy the kids. Mali is three months but he is dang cute. He sleeps a lot on good days, but when he is awake I can make him laugh and giggle. He likes it when I sing. This causes a huge smile to spread across his face. Tygar is okay. He is very talkative and loves playing with a tiny dog named Sasha that lives downstairs. He says I can't be his friend because I'm an adult. And he thinks I come from a different world. Yesterday he told his nanna that I have cowboys in my world. He had asked me when I first started if there were cowboys where I lived and I thought yes, there are because in Texas and even the ranch that I worked at had cowboys. He said that he couldn't be my friend because I live in a different world. He doesn't understand this concept of America yet. This makes me laugh. I make a big deal out of him teaching me new things. The other day he taught me what eyebrows, noses, and ears were. :)

I saw a kangaroo on the side of the road tonight. It wasn't dead. It was just standing there and I was so happy that I started to laugh out loud and scream in delight. I have always wanted to see a real kangaroo and now I have. Next time I want to see it in the light, but do they come out during the day?

Simon has gotten some extra days of work because one of the girls is out of town for a month traveling. This is great because it means five steady days for him, but the down side is those days are during my days off. I have the weekends off and those are two of the days he works. We are still seeing each other but I wish it would be neverending.

I realized how in the country it is when Si and I drove up north to a city for our immigrations appointment. I forgot how strange it was to see tall sky scrapers and even stop lights. In Byron the tallest building is probably two stories and there are
only rounds abouts instead of lights. As I drive from where the Masons live to where I live it is a completely country road with one lay both ways and on either side of the road there are rolling hills with scattered trees and spread out houses. You can see the beach and lighthouse as you drive into Bryon and the coastline is like a magic marker painted line with a golden strip of coast.

Today we were supposed to go into a nearby town called Ballina. This is where we get most of our basic clothes, bath essentials and car registration. It is cheaper than Byron. Byron is one of the most expensive towns in Australia. I guess beauty has it's price. We were heading out of the neighborhood when our car staled. Yesterday I had taken it in for a tuneup and he had adjusted the idle speed. now it was too low and the car kept on turning off and actually Simon had to get out and push it while in neutral. It was a crazy adventure. Eventually we made it to the near by mechanic and we got him to change the idle speed but
this meant that we didn't have time to go to Ballina. We will have to wait until next week because that is the only time we both have off of work at the same time.

Life here is sooooooo much slower. Luckily I like it but I could see how this would drive some people nuts. You just sort of adjust. I was actually thinking about this on Saturday because every weekend and day off I'm like. . . Hum what will i do and it turns out that I always do the same thing. Read, journal, paint, and spend time with God. There isn't a whole lot of opportunities for activity. I'm liking it though and am really glad I don't live in a big city like Sydney. Everyone is really chill here. They call it cruzy.

The depth that Simon and I are going is such a confirmation that this is right. We are really growing in our communication and get along really well. We talk through areas of frustration and through theological differences and at first I had a fear that he wouldn't love me if he found out more about me but the truth is just the opposite. He is kinder, and more loving than ever. We both are getting very ready for marriage and I know that God is laying a beautiful foundation.


Hey Deb if you are reading this can you email me because I sent you an email but it was to the old address and I forget your new one. Love you and thanks for keeping up with my life. I wish we could gossip over a cuppa in your kitchen.

A New Stamp in my Passport!

Thanks for all of your prayers. This morning after working from 5:00-9:00 I walked with Mia to the bank to deposit the huge wad of cash we were borrowing. Afterwards Simon and I filled out some paper work for our intention of marriage and I took a five minute nap on the floor cushions in the waiting/meeting room at the Tribe office. After a quick stop at home to shower and get pretty we piled in our white now slightly tan van, there is a muddy road on the way to work, popped in a new CD and drove North up the Pacific Hwy. Simon had done all of the research on exits and location and we found the immigrations office with time to spare. We ate a lunch of Japanese delicacies which didn't agree with Simon's stomach and than sat in a nervous waiting room for our number of H5756 to appear on the screen and be read over the intercom. After 30 minutes our time came to enter cubicle 4 where our government man was ready to assist us. We told the skeleton story of our relationship, answered his questions correctly, and were rewarded with a new stamp in my passport which means I am legal in the country of kolas until we are married. All went really smoothly except for Si's stomach.

One mention of a miracle though. He was completely surprised that I had gotten into the country without a return ticket. This was the second time this happened as Simon got into America without a return ticket and less than 200 dollars to his name. With the government mans shock at this Simon and I both felt more confirmation that we were doing the right thing and that God has our backs.

Once again, thanks for your prayers. We know that God wants me here but the process has been a test of our trust and perspective. I wish you could see my new stamp. It is a real beaut!

Over these past two months I've been immursed into the Byron Bay culture and have been introduced to many new words.
Since some of these words will be now found in my writing I thought it would be good to teach them to you as well.

Australian /American
Nappy/Diaper
Dummy/ pacifier
lift / elevator
mossy / mosquito
togs / swimsuit
saultanas/raisins
popo / papaya
rock melon /cantalop
avo /avacado
You have a go / It's your turn
Iceblocks/popcicle
jumper/sweater
thongs/flipflops
bench/counter top
ta/thank you
footy/ football
rice bubbles/ rice crispies


Bascially they take a lot of words from the Britians. So often I have to ask people what they mean and really use context clues to understand. There are so many others so we will continue this lesson later. :)

Renewing a visa

I am going through total reconstruction. I'm needing to soak myself in the reality of God's grace and affection towards me. I'm asking God for a new revelation of his character because my old one has some areas where that are dominated with fear and performance. Basically he is taking the foundation of my identity and laying it again.

Today I opened a bank account and it was so easy and quick. I didn't have to fill out paperwork at all. I just had to present my passport, visa card and drivers license. We are opening one and having Mia put around 5,000 dollars in there because later on this week we have to drive up the coast for a couple of hours to have an interview with immigrations to see if they will extend my visa. We have to prove to them that I have about 1,000 dollars for each month I want to stay here. Since we don't have the money we are just using Mias money to make it look like this. Then after we get the visa we will put the money back into her account. Pray for us as we do this because it is just such a demanding process.

Tomorrow I work a 12 plus hour day. I awake at 5:00 and need to leave the house at 5:30 to get to Mullum by 6:00. There I'll fall asleep on the couch under layers of blankets until around 7:30 when Tygar wakes up. After breakfast and a quick play session we will pack into the van which he looks so small in and drive to daycare. I drop him off and head back to Byron to watch Mali who is 3 months and likes to sleep and has a smile that lights up his chubby face. I'll make sure to put him in his pram and take him on a walk so I can get some exercise and escape being indoors all day. At 2:00 Melissa will come home and I'll drive back to Mullum to watch Tygar for my second session which includes reading books and eating lambchops for this all he likes to eat. Well, that and sausages. We alternate from day to day. Today was lambchop day, tomorrow is sausage day. Never changes.

So, I'm off to bed because I have to tackle this mammoth of a day with energy and life. Dream land here I come.

Living in this house has been a good challenge and a good stretch. There is five other girls and two of them I get a long with really well. Because some of the connections aren't organic it has really caused me to come in the opposite spirit and to practice what I preach. I want a community that is loving and vulnerable and I've been challenged to be this even when it isn't reciprocated. This is always the biggest test isn't it? Doing what you believe when it isn't easy. Overall, this has been good. I've been enjoying swimming in the pool and the spontaneous conversations that fabricate. Also it has been nice to be so close to Simon. Time wise it is the same amount as when I was living in Bangalow but there are convenient paved paths inbetween. It is a lovely ride.

As you know Simon and I've been looking for a van and we were running short on time. This week I started working as a nanny for 41/2 year old named Tygar. He lives about 30 minutes away but it is in another town called Mullum. I need a car to get there. We bought the van on the day that I started work. We had been looking at others and non passed the registration check but this one did and it passed other tests as well. We bought it from two Germans who were here on vacation. We spent two days cleaning it and organizing the heaps of camping gear and fishing gear it came with. There is a huge bed in the back so we can go camping once we are married. I'm excited to see more of Australia and to get on the road.

Like I've said I've started working and the first day was crazy. I tried to get Tygar to eat a very small portion of peas. I reasoned that if he ate them he would get an iceblock for dessert. He didn't like the peas idea but he liked the iceblock idea. This set him off and he threw a tantrum for what seemed like the better part of an hour. He ended up falling asleep on a beanbag under the coffee table. I would have left him here but he needs to wear a nappy for bedtime and I had to wake him up and try to get him out from the table. He cussed at me and he ran out of the house. I cased him down the street and them gave him a timeout in his room. All day and into the night it was battle after battle. Luckily I won the big ones and the next day that I came he was nice to me and listened. It is difficult laying down boundaries on a child who has never had them. He doesn't understand choices because he's never had consequences.


Let me know how you are doing. I really enjoy hearing about the details of your life as well.