In Australia they use an Easter Bilby rather than a bunny because (as the story goes) when the rabbit was introduced into the area it actually did a lot of damage and as a result people don't really like them I guess. They still have lots of chocolate bunnies etc, but I was excited to take a picture of the chocolate Easter bilbies.
I think I mentioned that the other night Hilary and I ate at a fast food restaurant called Red Rooster, which was the one that had a poster that commented that it was different from "those American chains that flocked over." I made Hilary take a picture of me outside, 1) because I don't always take many pics of myself when I am travelling, and 2)I love this shirt, which of course meant that it was quite a shame when it started unravelling later on in the evening. That makes 2 shirts who've started to fall apart on me this trip.
Hilary and Jeremy playing tennis, turns out they're equally competitive I think. If nothing else, Hilary is more :-D. She got pretty into it, and she was pretty good.
OK, now down to business. It is Friday and I have taken some time to come into the office to use a computer to get blogging that I haven't been able to do in the last couple days done. Its been really difficult for me since my computer went down because it was my main source of connection to home and resource to find things like bus schedules etc.
On Wednesday afternoon we had the Safe Place trainings which covered the Lutheran Church of Australia's policy and procedure when there is Sexual Abuse or Harassment in the office. After it we had cake to celebrate Wayne (the facilitator)'s birthday. Throughout the day there was a bit of back and forth about the trip to Renmark this weekend. We are going in order to provide a structured creche (child care) and possibly an activity for child and parent together. At one point there were only going to be 10 kids, and it didn't seem like we would need to go. This was exciting because we have been invited to a couple things since agreeing to help with this that are a bit more exciting. For example, a free trip to a wildlife reserve and other sightseeing in the area. Within an hour, though, we were told that 40+ more kids had been signed up and our help would be required after all. During the afternoon I also did a bit of research working on how we might be able to get my computer fixed, and was able to find a contact for Dell Australia and enough info to know that they should be able to help. Trevor, the IT guy happened to be here and he took the info and said that they would try to call on Thursday. Helene dropped us home and we rested for a bit before being picked back up for the Ash Wednesday service at their church. It was neat because it was a bit traditional, vs the somewhat contemporary that most of the service's we've attended have been. Afterwards, Morgan went to have coffee with the small group and Hilary and I challenged Helene to a match of Table tennis. It only figures that she would be quite skilled too. I had fun though, and she very graciously toned down her aggressiveness a bit for me. After a while Jeremy returned with Morgan and they came upstairs. I let Morgan have a shot at Helene and sat down for a bit. Hilary played carpet bowling (like lawn bowling) with Simon. I convinced Jeremy to play kings corners with me for a bit. I can't say I wasn't thrilled that I won more than he did. He just decided that I was cheating. I'm not sure how one would cheat while playing that game though. We went home a bit earlier knowing that we'd be up a bit earlier the next morning. I was scheduled to go to Calvary to see the shelter and programs there and figure out when I will be able to be out there. This meant getting on a but at about 7:15am though. When we arrived home Hilary had a minor medical emergency which would prove to change our plans. When I woke up on Thursday morning I checked in on Hilary to see how she was doing. We made our calls to see what Helen and Helene thought and it was decided that Hilary should stay back for the day. I stayed back with her just to make sure nothing happened. It meant that I got to sleep and rest for a bit, since I had my own issues to stress over throughout the day. Helene brought us lunch and visited with us for a while. She let me know that things with my computer seem to be progressing, but it will still take 3-4 days to get anywhere with it. It was also decided that Hilary will stay with Helene and her family for the weekend rather than go to Renmark.
Tanya, one of the worship leaders at Helen's church had invited me to potentially help lead a service this Sunday. She was able to come to the Magill office to meet with me and work on learning the service. She even picked me up from Hosanna Heights. I went straight from working on that to the City with Emily for our free session of a bollywood dancing class. We stopped at a shopping center to have a look around. It was the first mall that I had seen. There were a lot of discount stores in it though. When we arrived for the class it took us a bit to find the exact place where it would take place. The class was interesting, but a bit challenging in some ways. The woman who was leading it clearly had the knowledge and experience with dancing, but did not seem to have much experience teaching. I don't plan to attend any further courses, but it was a great experience. We worked out a short routine as a group and set it to music. It could definitely be good exercise for a person though. Emily dropped us off at Hosanna Heights and then I finally had a chance to eat supper. I was SO hungry. I ate a vegetarian quiche that I'd bought earlier. The rest of the night was spent visiting and getting settled for the weekend. I met a new person living at Hosanna Heights. Her name is Lalita (sp?) and she is about 31 yrs old. She is from Malaysia and has been working there for some time before she decided she wanted to go to school. She was very nice and I was excited to meet her. She offered to help us with any activities for children since she has worked as an outdoor ed instructor for some time.
This morning was pretty easy going. I got my stuff for Renmark together and packed it up. I have now walked to the Magill office and here I sit, typing up a long blog.
As far as my thankfulness lent devotion has been going. On Thursday I was thankful for the telephone and the ability to communicate that way. I was very glad to have been able to be in contact with home on Thursday and I know that it was a blessing for Hilary to have been able to contact home in her situation too. Today, Friday, is a bit more difficult. I am thankful for music. I am glad to still have my ipod, even though my computer isn't with me or working. Music is something that helps me relax and work through issues. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have music, or if I lost the ability to hear it.
No comments:
Post a Comment