As winter is finally melting into spring at home, here in Australia autumn is rolling in. Summer is over and it is time to break out my sweaters and scarves. Its cooling off at night and I keep forgetting to bring a jacket with me when I go out. Its my favourite kind of weather. I can wear jeans and a light jacket and be completely comfortable.

Shae, Steph and I are going for one more summer excursion though. We are heading up to Wollongong today to visit a friend for a week. It looks like we'll have perfect weather to do some walking and hopefully a day at the beach as well. Wollongong is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Australia and I'm really excited to spend some time exploring another part of this amazing country.

Lisa, my host sister, and I got up at 5:40am to get ready and go see the hot air balloon festival down at the lake. My teammate Shae also came. Each year for two weeks in Canberra there is a festival which entails getting up early to go see hot air balloons take off. It all happens in a park next to the lake. There are stands open that sell breakfast so you can eat and watch as the balloon are inflated. Its a gorgeous sight as colorful balloons take off gliding high over the lake. Unfortunately that did not happen today. The weather was questionable and there was too much wind for the balloons to actually take off. Two balloons did inflate. One was a giant kookaburra. Even though the balloons didn't leave the ground it was still a beautiful morning. We went for a nice walk around the lake and then had breakfast together before heading off to start our day. It's these sort of days that I am very thankful to God for the unparallelled beauty of the world and my chance to be a part of it.

Ulladulla

Just got back from Church Family Camp. We spent the weekend hanging out down at the coast near Ulladulla. It was awesome. Swimming conditions were pretty good. I even managed to catch a wave on Sunday. We also saw a penguin casing a school of fish. It was pretty cool.

Before we went to camp my host family went for a little retreat in the hills near Bega. Bega is famous for cheese. So we went to the cheese factory. We spent two nights in an adorable cottage in the country. The area had recently had a lot of rain so everything was a beautiful vibrant green. It was really nice to spend some time away from everything and relax for a while. On Friday our coordinator from RJ, Kay, is coming to visit. Its shaping up to be an intensely busy visit but I'm excited to see someone from home anyway.

Unicorn works by pressing one ear at a time...

Yesterday I started volunteering at St. Vinnies Op Shop. I love it! Today I worked all day and it was fantastic. Everyone is so sweet and lovely, the managers especially. I worked the till in the morning and in the afternoon I sorted through jewelry. It so happens that those are my two favorite jobs to do at second hand stores. Working at Etcetera Shop the last two summers is definitely paying off. I am so excited to start working there more often.

A change in the wind

As promised in our first week in Australia, the summer heat has come. Last week there were a couple days where I barely left the comfort of my fan. I've been reading a lot lately, as most Australians are on holiday mode and there isn't a lot to do. My main volunteer job as a tutor does not start again till February. The heat made me not want to leave the house.

However, with each heat wave comes a cool wind. A storm has blown up from the south and today it finally rained. Rain is such a blessing in this part of Australia. Everyone is happier now that our house has finally cooled down. And now I'm looking forward to new opportunities to volunteer. This week I'm helping with a holiday club for primary schoolers. It should be fun.

Rabbit Proof Fence

Heart wrenching, tear jerking, inspiring, beautiful, powerful, provocative, and capturing are all words to describe this movie. Rabbit Proof Fence is a story of three young girls who have the courage and the determination to go home again.

In the 1870s the Australian government started taking half Aboriginal-half white children, called half castes, away from their families in order to bread their native color and blood out of them. It did not end until the 1970s. The stolen generations is just one example of mistreatment of the Aboriginal peoples.

After being taken 1200 miles away from their home, two sisters and their cousin escape the mission home and start a long journey through the desert to their homeland. I highly recommend this movie as both a historical film (based on a true story) and a beautiful work of film. Its the best movie I've seen in a long time, and I've been watching plenty of movies lately.

An Aussie Christmas

I feel very blessed this Christmas season to be here in Australia, even though I miss my family terribly right now. It barely even feels like Christmas without my family, friends, Christmas lights on every other house, the cold wind blowing, and the chance of snow in the forecast. The closest I'll get to a white Christmas is a white sandy beach. But hey, that doesn't sound too bad.

I'll be travelling down to Melbourne with my host family for Christmas. I'm really excited to go and see a different part of Australia, and spend some time in a big city. It'll be my first time living with a Aussie family too. It's also the first time being away from my team for more than a day.

The hospitality from my host family and the church community here has been overwhelming. Our whole house is full of sweets these days. I am so grateful, everyone has been so supportive of my team. And I'm not forgetting all my supporters from home. I want to thank anyone and everyone who has prayed for me and my team this year. A very Merry and Happy Christmas to you and a blessed New Year!

Love Becca