On the way to church we pass this lot where you can buy a house that has been moved from a lot somewhere in Queensland. On day we saw the banner put up on the fence and had a good laugh. We "think" they must also build houses, we hope.

Australia is a very large country and not over populated. In answer to expensive rail lines they have come up with an innovative alternative: the road train. How would you like to meet one of these on a two lane highway in the country. We don't see these in the city, but we do see a mere double trailer version that is longer than anything I have seen in the USA.

The Green Team

One of the fun aspects of both Thelly and me being missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ is that we get to work together a lot. We were able to do this when we were asked to lead a team building morning with the "Green Team." The name came from the color of the white board marker that listed their names. They are now called the "Student Life Leadership Team." It is more descriptive. but I kinda liked the quirkiness of the "Green Team" name.

Thelly and I enjoyed the morning with these young men and women who have dedicated themselves to turning lost Australian students into Christ-centered laborers. We find it comfortable to co-facilitate things like this. It is a thrill to see that the future is in such good hands when we look as these quality leaders.

NZ Leadership Summit

A Week with God's People

Thelly and I had a great week in Christchurch, NZ with about 120 of leadership connected with Campus Crusade for Christ in the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands area. The emphasis on our walk with God and having a heart for Him was an inspiration.

There were many highlights. One was the first meeting of the HR people from this part of the world together. There was a track that allowed us to meet for a number of days on issues of this part of the world. The fellowship was rich.

Another highlight was seeing friends whom we have not seen for a while. One of whom was Don Roths sitting next to Thelly in the photo. We served with Don and his wife Melanie in Baguio, Philippines when we lived there. Being from a warm climate you will notice that I have a scarf around my neck which I had a very single meeting--and it felt good!

The week before the conference we took a campervan and drove around the South Island and learned that one week was just not enough. The good news is now we know that we will have to go back to do more. I can say that we enjoyed being there in the Autumn which was May. It got pretty cool, but snow was not on the ground yet.

Driving on the left is still something that I am getting used to and Thelly is a good reminder to me to stay left.

Olympic DVD and Website

Hi, Bill here. That is a common way people answer the phone in Australia.

I just received an email about a neat DVD for the Olumpics prepared by Athletes in Action, a part of our mission, Campus Crusade for Christ. It has stories of a number of international athletes and comes in 40 languages. You may want to check out the website at: http://www.struggleandtriumph.com/

Toowoomba Show Day

Thursday, 10 April was a holiday for us in Toowoomba. Apparently every (most?) councils (towns) in Australia have a fair of some sort and if it falls on a work day, it becomes a holiday in that area. So the 2008 Toowoomba Royal Show started on Thursday, so we decided that to have a sense of what this area is about we should visit the show. We had to do a little shopping so the plan was for us to do the shops in the morning and the Show in the afternoon and stay as long as we liked (it ended at 9PM with firework). So it was off to the shops to find first one, K-mart—still going strong here—was closed, as was the second, third, etc. Toowoombans take their Show Day seriously, it would appear, but giving almost everyone the day off. Shopping Malls, grocery stores, department stores, most restaurants, banks, of course, were all closed for the holiday.

The show was a like a US county fair. We were able to see the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place winners for garden vegetables, plants, flower arrangements, cake decorating, quilting, bread making, wool, cattle, singing, etc., etc. A highlight was watching Fred and Mable demonstrate how to make sausages at the "Ye old Butcher Shoppe" show. It might have been more interesting if the machine had actually worked, but as it was I never Fred was aware that I had all I could do to keep from laughing out loud and risk getting through out of the fairgrounds all together. When the rains began we were able to find a nice cup of tea. We decided to not stay for the evening show as we were a little wet and cold and the promise of the "Largest Fireworks Display in Toowoomba History" was not enough to keep us in damp seats.

On the way out of the parking lot I had to drive out through a patch field with no grass on a slight hill and promptly found myself "bogged" or stuck in mud. Well, not completely stuck, I was able to slide sideways quite easily. After help from the volunteer parking attendants who suggested I back down to another way out of the lot. I think they got a kick out of the "Yank" who couldn't drive properly.

We enjoyed our evening at home.

South Bank of Melbourne Australia

Just before eating lunch at a food court on the South Bank in Melbourne Australia I snapped a photo of Thelly with the city skyline in the back ground. We had some Indian curries and then we road the free tourist bus--in the rain--before heading to Bill and Faye Hodgson's home where we stayed for almost a week. I think we are still friends. I'll ask the next time I see Bill.