Kristen...
It was so good to have Kristen with us for 3 weeks. She challenged us to explore parts of Australia we had not yet gone too. We got lost (a lot) and found even better places, or scary dark roads made out of gravel that were marked as a major road on the map...She and Tiff went on a 3 day road trip and slept on beach front property (in the car :) Along with the rest of the Australian backpackers (we decided there was a code amongst all travelers that we would all look out for each other, and enjoyed a good nights rest). I was so glad Kristen could join in for the first night of Hillsong Conference which leads to the next major event of our life of the past 6 weeks.
Hillsong Conference.....
was amazing. Hillsong hosted a little over 20,000 church leaders from around the world for four days of leadership training, empowerment, and encouragement. We were thrilled to hear from some great Americans including Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin...:) If you ever get a chance to come to conference, you should definitely come. It is so encouraging and uplifting. Matt served as a leader on the catering team (They were responsible for feeding lunch and dinner to 4,000 volunteers.) And Tiffany volunteered on the team for new christians. Conference is pretty full on. Matt would be at the Arena from 7 am till abot 1030 pm. Which brings us to our next major event.
Moving...
So while K was here Matt found an advert for a great furnished place that cost half of what we had been paying. So he called right away and we fell in love with the place the first time we saw it. The homeowners are so kind and giving and it just happens that Matt is in class with the owners brother. So Saturday after conference, we loaded up the car and moved across town to the aforementioned luxury home :)
School holiday...
Then came school holiday which isn't much of a holiday when you are working as much as you can....so we will skip this week and talk a bit about work...
Jobs....
Matt is doing so well at Outback. For a culture that does not tip, they sure are easily persuaded to do so by an American. Matt is making a good hourly wage as well as an average of $40 in tips....he has been known to come home with $93 and $78 of tips. It is amazing how God uses people even without there knowing. Tiffany had decided she should find some more steady work and began working for a house cleaning agency (key phrase here is that Tiffany decided) . So I have been doing that for about 6 weeks. It is not my favorite thing to do, but helps pay the bills. Well about 3 weeks ago, our homeowners asked if I would be interested in watching their son when she goes back to work full time. Long story short, the only conflict I had were the cleaning jobs. So again I learn that I need to stick to God's plan...since he can future and I can't. I quit the cleaning jobs, I should never have taken anyhow...Back to watching the baby...so I will watch him two days a week in exchange for rent and a bit of cash that will exceed the rent amount. Basically, we are now getting paid to live in our home...Bet there isn't a mortgage like that in America :).
XANDER....and his mum and dad
We of course cannot forget this major event. Matt and I were so thrilled to have Mel, B and the Xander-man with us for 11 days. We got to do so much. We got to be with jet-lag Xander, happy Xander, and teething Xander. :) We went to many of our wonderful beaches, enjoyed an interesting opera, and were blessed with beautiful weather. Our good Aussie friends Craig and Sarah were gone while Mel and B were here so we were able to use their house which was a huge blessing to have separate rooms for all. Xander was so flexible the whole time. He had naps in his pram, in the car, and rarely in a bed.
Well they left last Saturday...and here I am a week later finally getting a moment to update. Matt and I decided to sleep in on Monday before we embarked on another very busy week. Matt has fully started his second semester now. He has been reassigned to a different extension service on Sunday mornings in Burwood which is closer to the city (and closer to the beaches :) This service is all in English and they have two services. We are really excited about this change and look forward to getting to know the people at the service. Today was the beginning of our second semester with street Teams and we have quite a few new students joining our team that bring a lot of new excitement to our community. Matt has been given a lot of responsibilities through the college which is keeping him busy and challenging him to grow more as a servant leader. He is learning so much and leading effective teams. This has been such an amazing experience for us. We look forward to each new day to see what God has in store. It is always a surprise, and never disappointing.
