Our House

So here are a few pics of our house!!! At least of the space that we occupy!! we know many of you are curious. You can see matt in the small middle window. The three windows on the right are ours. The small and large one are our bedroom and the other is to our bathroom...Let's go inside..
When you walk into our door we have a little entry way with a loo to the left and then straight ahead is the living room and dining room area. After you walk through the dining area there is a kitchen and second eating area to the right and the laundry room is off of this area. We have two sliding doors at the end of the living room that open to our backyard where can cook "shrimp on the barbie".
Next is our master suite. Notice the windows...we try to block the sun a little as it sets on our side of the house making our room really warm in the afternoons. The hinged door goes into the hallway and the pocket door goes into our closet and bathroom. We are grateful that God has put us in such an amazing living situation. The house may seem big, but remember we share with 5 other wonderful housemates. We have already been blessed by their international flavor and genuine friendship. We love you all and can't wait to entertain our visitors from the States. P.S. I hear it is cheaper to call on our land line...if you want to call the house number is 02 8882 9062.

Happy Australia Day!!!

You may be asking yourself..."What is Australia Day all about?" Well I am so glad you asked...because now I know...basically it is the Day England let them go, but they got off a lot easier than we did..no wars or anything...I guess the Brits were tired of losing wars after our excursion...Anyhow, their celebrations are much the same, go to the beach, enjoy cookouts, and picnics in the parks...and a few fireworks. We of course jumped into the traditions and enjoyed the day on Bondi beach with our friend (and housemate) Frances (she is from London). We had a great day! We had to take a series of public transportation venues so it took us about 3 hours to get to the beach, but the adventure was well worth it :).

We still do not have the internet at our house, but we are working on it. We have to walk down to McD's for free wi-fi. It is about a 15 minute walk.

Matt started school today and had a really enjoyable day. He is learning a lot about what he will be learning and meeting a lot of people. Tonight...he is tired.

Tiff took a trek to Rouse Hill which is a shopping center a couple of miles from where we live...No, she didn't walk there, but she did miss her bus stop on the way back adding a couple extra steps to her trip...Dad, I went to Big W...it reminded me a lot of a store we have back home... :)

Tonight we are relaxing..we had a meeting with all of our housemates who are quite lovely. We are in the international house with mates from Switzerland, Norway, England, Malaysia, and Canada.

We met a couple on Sunday night and they have invited us to dinner tomorrow night with their parents. Her mum is a teacher so we hope this may give some insight to job opportunities for Tiff. Please keep us in your prayers as God continues to work in amazing ways.

We hope all our friends and family are doing well. We should have Skype up and running by the end of the week so you better get those webcams ready.

We are here...

So we made it to Australia...finally...
We are both feeling a lot better, which is good b/c we hit the ground running. When we arrived our friend Ken was in the airport awaiting us with a sign with "Matt Scott" on it :). We made it through customs really easy which was great. We then piled in to his cozy BMW with our 10 pieces of luggage. Tiff had the guitar in her lap :). We got to see the big bridge (it probably has a better name, idk) and the Sydney Opera house on our way to the College.
Once we arrived, we were plesantly surprised to find out we were going to be in a furnished house. (why do we continue to be surprised at God's perfect plan?) Ken then kindly took us to our residence. We are in a 5 bedroom house that we are sharing with 6 other girls (poor Matt ;(). We are in the master suite with our very own bathroom (Yeah!!). We have a queen size bed, a chest of drawers, and night stand in the room, as well as a nice sized closet. What an answer to prayers.
After going to the house , Ken took us to the Telstra store to set up phones and internet. We purchased a pre-pay cell phone so we would not have to get into a contract. Next week, we will also be getting a house phone with a great international plan and the internet. Back to the pre-pay phone. Australia is great in that you do not get charged for incoming calls. Soooo, if anybody wants to call feel free(although it is not free to you :). Our country code is 011 followed by our number which is 0429025979.
OK, soo we did a little shopping last night...and...when you consider the conversion rate, different brands, and jet lag...this was quite the experience. We then went home to clean, unpack, make our bed and get in it...
After a good nights rest, we are here at "Maccas"" (McDonanlds) enjoying free wi-fi. We don't have a whole lot of plans for the rest of the day...just meeting people and finding our way around town. We are beginning to see we may need some mode of transportation, buses are pretty expensive and it is in the upper 90's outside. (oh yeah and the big hole in the ozone is right over us...) We know God has a perfect plan and will provide for our needs. We ask that you pray that we can find a job quickly and a reasonable and reliable form of transportation. Please keep in touch. We love you all!!!

Still in California...

Well, we continue to trust God's plans although we do not always understand.  Matt got really ill on Sunday night/Monday morning so we had to postpone our flight.  We ended up on a flight out on Wednesday night. It is a good thing b/c Tiffany got sick on Monday night.  We are both recovering and trying to sleep off any lingering germs.  On our new flight schedule, we will leave Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Sydney at 12:25 p.m on Friday.  Thankfully, our friend is still able to pick us up from the airport.  We look forward to meeting all of the wonderful people in Australia and cannot wait to get there.  Please keep us in your prayers that we get well quickly.

Getting There...

Matt and I both had our last day of work on Thursday.  I was thankful for many students who expressed their appreciation to me and I know they will all do great.   Friday...we were packing and trying to close out all of our business.   We were supposed to pack in two suitcases each, but we didn't quite make it :).  We are so glad to be here in California with Xander, Mel, and B.  It is a time for much needed rest after a couple of crazy weeks behind us and a few more to come...We 

went to San Fran last nite for a couple hours and then got to Mel and B's where we could catch up on some rest!!

We are heading to LA tomorrow morning where we will begin the last leg of our trip to Sydney.  We are so excited to see what God has in store for us there and cannot wait to begin our life and  ministry in that city.

Going away weekend

Well, It is finally starting to feel real.  Last night we had a really great going away party that our parents put together for us.  It was so nice to have one more dinner with so many of our friends and family before we depart for our extended leave.  Mom and Dad Scott came in on Friday morning and helped Matt get ready for his service.  We were pleasantly surprised when Lee (matt's brother) Melanie, and our niece Laney arrived at our door step Friday night.  We were so glad they could make it for one last visit.  Laney is growing up so fast we love any chance we have to see her.  

Sunday, Matt led the Glorious Freedom Sunday.  He popped a string on his guitar playing the second song, but God had another guitar ready for him to use.  It was a great service.  We have spent the rest of the day packing up our house.  Most of the stuff is sold or already dispersed, but Matt's parents are graciously taking our couches, bookcase, hope chest, and a few other extras to there house to keep for us.  What a blessing that we will have these when we return.  

It is back to work tomorrow for both of us.  We are really exhausted from all of the excitement over the past month(s).  We are really looking forward to a couple down days in CA before we leave for Sydney.  We know we will have to hit the ground running once we get to Sydney.  Please continue to pray for God's strength, rest and peace as we prepare to move on.  

Getting Ready to Go

Well, time is quickly moving by.  We are so excited about our move.  We know a lot of people will miss us, and we will miss a lot of you.  God has called us to move and he has shown us in an amazing way that He has plans for us and our lives in Sydney.  We are constantly overwhelmed by the way God works out the details.  I do not know why we are still surprised when God makes it happen.  He just works in a way that we could never predict.  Thank you all for your prayers and support as we embark on this adventure.  Please continue to pray for us as there are still many uncertainties.  

We are flying out on January 17 and will spend 2 days with Mel, B and Xanderman.  This will be a much needed break as we have been so busy finishing the details here.  We will fly out of LA on Monday and arrive in Sydney Wednesday afternoon at 12:25.(No, that is not a typo we skip Tuesday)  Once we arrive our friend Ken will pick us up and take us to the Hills campus about 45 minutes from the airport.  Once there, we will receive our housing assignments and go shopping for some essentials.  Most apartments are unfurnished, so we anticipate a busy first couple days trying to acquire mattresses and other household essentials.  

I am sure we will have a lot going on this first few weeks finding jobs and getting acquainted with the town.  Orientation for Matt starts on January 29 and I can start work once he starts school.  

For now, this is all we know.  I hope to keep you updated on our Australian Adventure...hopefully we will have regular access to the internet!?!?!?