A Little Bit of Roo....

First of all let me apologise to all those who actually check and read my blog regularly. I have failed epically in my duties as a blogger. But as anyone who really knows me remembers, I don't like doing thing if they're being forced upon me. I guess I was just not ready to say anything till now. It's hard to describe what we've been doing these past three weeks. Our schedule is a random array of meeting new people, exploring Canberra and learning about the culture. However, I will do my best to give a summary of a bit that we've been up to.

Arrived in Sydney on Tuesday the 22nd of September at 6:16 am. After 15 and a half hours of little sleep and much movie watching, I was able to move my legs farther than the eight paces it took to get to the bathroom.
We drove a scenic route along the coastline for a bit and then inland to Canberra. Moriah wouldn't let us sleep. We had to adjust our systems to the time change. I didn't like that rule. Not a great first opinion. To distract us Moriah took us to Floriade, a flower festival. Flowers make you sleepy. It was gorgeous and the whole time I was in a kind of dazed trance just wondering through the park.

First impression of Australia: Cold. It was freezing and rainy and it wasn't supposed to be. Everyone was always saying how warm and nice Australia's weather was. But do not be fooled like I was. It is a cold, wet place. Moriah assures us that soon summer will come and the heat wave with it. I have my doubts.



So like I said, most of our time is spent orienting ourselves to our new home and doing random things Moriah makes us do. Here are some highlights in no particular order:(actually just what order I remember them in)

Black Stump Music Festival
Around 2000 people came from around Australia to share in a weekend of Christian music and fellowship. Volunteered at Kids Stump helping lead Drama games. Heard some great bible studies, comedic talks and some fantastic Aussie music. Downside to the weekend was that it was constantly drizzling and sometimes pouring. We were camping in tents. I was wet about 93% of the time.

Tidbinbilla
So I mentioned in church the first week that I hadn't seen any kangaroos yet. The next thing we know a lady from the church offers to take us out to a nature preserve to see all the kangaroos we want. It was fantastic. That day was the day I fell in love with Australia. The scenery was gorgeous as we drove down winding roads through rolling hills. We saw a mob of about 60 kangaroos and were able to get really close to them. We also saw a father emu with five chicks following behind. Once emus bread the mum takes off and leaves the day to raise the kids. I like it. Other creatures we saw included a rock wallaby and lots of water birds. No koalas yet.

Canberra Baptist Church
Moriah is the youth minister at Canberra Baptist Church. On our first Sunday my team was commissioned and welcomed. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable. In between the services there is morning tea, which allowed us to meet and talk with a lot of people. We also attended youth group that Friday night and met the teenagers of the church.


Westley Uniting Church
This last Sunday we attended Westley Uniting Church. We live on their property. They also were very welcoming and hospitable. After church we were getting lunch ready and an elderly man drove up to our house. He said that he was moved by what we were doing and gave us a bag full of bread, meat and a 2 kilo bucket of honey. Then he proceeded to ask what else we needed and didn't really understand when we said we had all we needed. It was so touching for a stranger to take such an interest in our well being.

Overall everyone here is amazingly generous. I think some people here think that we are poor and starving, but in reality we eat really well. Especially after coming from JPUSA food for a month. People from the church have donated most of the furniture, appliances, dishes and linens in our house. We have been invited to dinner several times and also had groups over to eat at our house. Moriah sometimes brings random people over who swing dance in our kitchen and our living room. It's great fun. I have a room to myself which is awesome after sharing with five other girls in Chicago.

So there's a little insight into what I've been doing. I can't start volunteering until a police check comes through, but I hope I will be taken care of by next week. I am going to be tutoring kids after school, working with the Migrant and Refugees Resource Services. I am also looking into volunteering in a retirement home. There is such a wide range of service opportunities, I'm excited to get started. That's all for now. I will try to be more responsible with blogging in the future. Cheers.