Greetings from the future

Wow!  The past few days have been incredible!  This time change is weird because when I’m half way through one day you guys are going to bed the night before.  I guess I’m living in the future.  Sunday was a very busy day.  We went to 4 different services and gave testimonies, did mimes, sang, or Dr T preached.  The first service was a Chinese service and we had to use a translator.  I was planning to give my testimony so Dr T gave me instructions about how to speak with an interpreter.  He had me pretty nervous, but as soon as I stood up all I thought about was talking to the people, and everything went smoothly.  God gave me the words to say and it was incredible.  It was so neat to hear what I said repeated in Chinese.  The next service was a Korean service and again we used translators.  There is just something about listening to believers worship in another language that is awesome.  One of the hymns was one that we recognized the tune, so we sang in English while the congregation sang in Korean.  All I could think about was how it was a pleasing aroma to the Lord, and he understood what all of us were saying.   The following 2 services were English, so they were a piece of cake.  It was pretty neat that even though we’re in an English speaking country, we had the opportunity to worship and fellowship with people of various cultures.

Yesterday (Monday) was our day off so we took a ferry to Circular Quay where the Sydney Opera House is.  None of us could believe that we were actually there.  This could be a once in a lifetime things for a lot of us.  After about 1000 pictures from every angle we walked through the city and on to Darling Harbor.  We got to go to Sydney Wildlife World and see animals that are native to Australia.  I stood about 2 feet from a koala!  Too cool!  Even in all of the fun and relaxation, we saw God work.  When we got back to Manly Beach to shop and head home, Zach realized he had left his wallet with about $300 in it back outside the wildlife park.  We made some phone calls and got in touch with people who were going to look for it.  We all prayed and prayed that somehow it was still sitting right where he’d left it.  Sure enough, we got a call back that it had been found with all of the money still in it!  Praise the Lord!  We were so thankful!  Zach and Dr T had to go back to pick it up, but the rest of us managed to use those 3 hours wisely-shopping and eating icecream.

This morning we met Greg, the pastor we’re working with, at a park/reserve for a BBQ breaky.  It was a part of the Australian bush outside of town.  We practiced our skits, planned for the rest of the week, and learned the play the didgeridoo.  Greg took us on a hike through the bush, which was fun, except Stephanie and I had worn flip flops expecting a picnic-not a hike.  It was worth the scuffed up feet though.  The views were beautiful and again we were able to enjoy God’s beautiful creation.

I can’t believe our trip is half way over.  The Lord has been so good to us so far and I can’t wait to see what He has planned for the last few days.