Thursday, December 28, 2006
Yesterday in a worship service, Mum was saying a prayer for Tonga. She meant to pray for the capital city, Nuku'alofa...but she mispronounced the name pretty significantly (she always forgets the name of the city, for some reason). According to Lupe, what she actually ended up saying roughly translated to 'forgetful love'. I thought that was funny. Hopefully, everyone knew what she meant.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
Christmas service was so good today, including Christmas carols from the Tongan, Indian and Fijian choirs. And I sang a lot as well. My voice is in definite need of a rest. Other than my sore voice, today has been fun. I got good presents and had a fun dinner with my family. And the Bella wine I was saving for Christmas was really sweet :)
I hope all of you had a really good Christmas, and hopefully we'll all meet up lots more times in the holidays.
Christmas service was so good today, including Christmas carols from the Tongan, Indian and Fijian choirs. And I sang a lot as well. My voice is in definite need of a rest. Other than my sore voice, today has been fun. I got good presents and had a fun dinner with my family. And the Bella wine I was saving for Christmas was really sweet :)
I hope all of you had a really good Christmas, and hopefully we'll all meet up lots more times in the holidays.
Friday, December 22, 2006
It was really hot today....annoying.
But last night's Christmas party at the Yagers' was fun. I made mango pudding and, according to Matt and Jace, it was good pudding. And the bowl was emptied, so I'm assuming other people liked it aswell. Another highlight of the party, and what I think is a significant achievement: I beat Matt at a waving competition. Originally it was him, me, Shan, Sean and i think Robbo (if I remember correctly, or maybe he was just watching). Then it was only us two left in the competition. By that stage my hand didn't feel like it was moving, it just felt like there was a weight attached to it. Because my hand was moving so fast, my whole body started to move, meaning I spilled the drink I was holding in my other hand. When he saw this, Matt stopped waving - meaning I won! Yes, it did result in my arm covered in coke, but at least I can say I beat Matt at a waving competition (vague recollections of hearing about having glory over people, from one of Mike's talks)
It was *so* good to see Tiina at the party...I haven't seen her for ages, and I really wasn't expecting her to be there. Matt C, one of the other people I was friends with way back in first year, always hangs around CU events, but I haven't seen Tiina since the end of 2nd year. Ah, I've been at uni a *long* time - and still 2 years to go :P
And it just isn't a party without music and dancing - and it isn't a CU party without crazy dancing. I love Ash, Bec and Katherine's interpretive dance, and then there's my tau'olunga, which looks so much better when danced by real Tongan girls! Hopefully there shall be lots more socials throughout the holidays, it's pretty boring at home. But I've got the youth group Christmas party tomorrow night.
But last night's Christmas party at the Yagers' was fun. I made mango pudding and, according to Matt and Jace, it was good pudding. And the bowl was emptied, so I'm assuming other people liked it aswell. Another highlight of the party, and what I think is a significant achievement: I beat Matt at a waving competition. Originally it was him, me, Shan, Sean and i think Robbo (if I remember correctly, or maybe he was just watching). Then it was only us two left in the competition. By that stage my hand didn't feel like it was moving, it just felt like there was a weight attached to it. Because my hand was moving so fast, my whole body started to move, meaning I spilled the drink I was holding in my other hand. When he saw this, Matt stopped waving - meaning I won! Yes, it did result in my arm covered in coke, but at least I can say I beat Matt at a waving competition (vague recollections of hearing about having glory over people, from one of Mike's talks)
It was *so* good to see Tiina at the party...I haven't seen her for ages, and I really wasn't expecting her to be there. Matt C, one of the other people I was friends with way back in first year, always hangs around CU events, but I haven't seen Tiina since the end of 2nd year. Ah, I've been at uni a *long* time - and still 2 years to go :P
And it just isn't a party without music and dancing - and it isn't a CU party without crazy dancing. I love Ash, Bec and Katherine's interpretive dance, and then there's my tau'olunga, which looks so much better when danced by real Tongan girls! Hopefully there shall be lots more socials throughout the holidays, it's pretty boring at home. But I've got the youth group Christmas party tomorrow night.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Q: What do you call a man with a shovel on his head?
A: Doug
Yes, I know everyone's heard that before, and so have I. But I got such a funny mental picture when I heard that read out today at a Christmas lunch.
Back to NTE....spiritually it was awesome. Most of the time during the Canberra part, I was feeling physically dodgy but spiritually excellent! Both Richard and Phillip gave very challenging but reassuring talks (I love it when talks are both simultaneously). Although, I *still* don't know why Richard is so against portraying images of Jesus. He brought it up last year aswell (fair enough, when he was talking about Deuteronomy) but I didn't really understand why he thought it necessary to bring it up again. For me, it's a secondary issue. But anyhoo, other than that I liked the talks. God is completely awesome...and we are living anno domini...the year of our Lord. I loved the distinction between BC and AD...it really showed how different we are to the rest of the world, and how we *should* be different.
I was really inspired to pray...for the world, for IFES around the world, for missionaries, for churches, for AFES campuses...prayer is such a beautiful thing because we can make a difference, we can talk to God, *anywhere* and anytime. I don't pray enough, though.
Mission in Blacktown was a very good experience....at first I was kind of sad that the team was split up, but really, i thought our Blacktown team was full of awesome people, and we all worked together really well. Ben Johnson is an absolute legend, and so is his wife, Louise. Just to see their genuine compassion for the people of Blacktown, especially those who are disadvantaged, and to also see their faithfulness to the gospel in all of this, was really encouraging. I was really impressed with everyone, especially people who gave talks and testimonies eg. Rohan, Lauren, Tiff and Chris telling a story to the Sunday School creche kids.
One thing that has challenged me from this mission, for stuff with my own church, is to be more explicit with the gospel. It's great to sing beautifully and God can really minister to people through music, but then its also really important to have the gospel presented clearly in words. And there are also a lot of disadvantaged people around my church....lots of opportunities to reach out to people.
It's not even Christmas and i've already been having so many Christmas dinners. Yesterday was the church fellowship annual dinner, and today was the retirement home dinner. Me and my friend Lupe sang there so we were invited to the dinner. And tonight is my dad's birthday, so there will be a dinner tonight aswell!
A: Doug
Yes, I know everyone's heard that before, and so have I. But I got such a funny mental picture when I heard that read out today at a Christmas lunch.
Back to NTE....spiritually it was awesome. Most of the time during the Canberra part, I was feeling physically dodgy but spiritually excellent! Both Richard and Phillip gave very challenging but reassuring talks (I love it when talks are both simultaneously). Although, I *still* don't know why Richard is so against portraying images of Jesus. He brought it up last year aswell (fair enough, when he was talking about Deuteronomy) but I didn't really understand why he thought it necessary to bring it up again. For me, it's a secondary issue. But anyhoo, other than that I liked the talks. God is completely awesome...and we are living anno domini...the year of our Lord. I loved the distinction between BC and AD...it really showed how different we are to the rest of the world, and how we *should* be different.
I was really inspired to pray...for the world, for IFES around the world, for missionaries, for churches, for AFES campuses...prayer is such a beautiful thing because we can make a difference, we can talk to God, *anywhere* and anytime. I don't pray enough, though.
Mission in Blacktown was a very good experience....at first I was kind of sad that the team was split up, but really, i thought our Blacktown team was full of awesome people, and we all worked together really well. Ben Johnson is an absolute legend, and so is his wife, Louise. Just to see their genuine compassion for the people of Blacktown, especially those who are disadvantaged, and to also see their faithfulness to the gospel in all of this, was really encouraging. I was really impressed with everyone, especially people who gave talks and testimonies eg. Rohan, Lauren, Tiff and Chris telling a story to the Sunday School creche kids.
One thing that has challenged me from this mission, for stuff with my own church, is to be more explicit with the gospel. It's great to sing beautifully and God can really minister to people through music, but then its also really important to have the gospel presented clearly in words. And there are also a lot of disadvantaged people around my church....lots of opportunities to reach out to people.
It's not even Christmas and i've already been having so many Christmas dinners. Yesterday was the church fellowship annual dinner, and today was the retirement home dinner. Me and my friend Lupe sang there so we were invited to the dinner. And tonight is my dad's birthday, so there will be a dinner tonight aswell!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Hey, I'm finally home after the madness and beauty that was NTE. It seems really quiet at home, although Daisy is over excited at the moment. How can I possibly write down everything that happened? I'm sure over all of our posts, we will cover most things. I didn't write anything down at NTE, so I am relying solely on my memory. Even against Kate's warning of losing momen-en-te-nen-ten-um, I will post in two parts, to cover two very different aspects of NTE. First, the crazy, socialising...wait a minute, this is just as crazy at home. Stiney is talking to me about spelling bra with two i's...bra-ii!!!! Don't ask. Back to NTE.
Some notable moments..the ones I can remember anyway
*Ash's van...sitting in the back seat with no suspension and going over speed humps. Awesome
* Doug's 'wafer? wafer?'. I don't know if I'll ever eat a wafer again, just for the principle of it.
* The girls photography outing to the lake
* 'Macquarie, the Innovative University! Whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop!'
* Not quite as good a catchcry....'Fenner fenner fenner, funner funner funner...then I have no idea what came next'
* Frozen custard
* Everyone trying on my hats eg. Jono, Robbo, Sean, Jasmin, Kath...I hope no one has headlice!
*Walking to Rydges....and then hundreds of crazy, dusty uni students walking into Rydges with people in suits looking at us
*All that singing! Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun
* Kate, me, Nat and Jarryd getting back in the same strand group again
* Playing with trolleys in the Fenner dining hall with Shan and Sean (their names sound the same...heehee)
*Later on, looking at Doug riding in a trolley and realising there is a big difference between being pushed down a corridor in a dining hall and being pushed down a hill onto a road.
*Getting to Blacktown, and being asked if play time was all organised...yes, the look on Matt's and my face must have been priceless
*The kids ministry team...what more can I say. Good idea putting the most immature people on mission in a team together. Kath's crazy dances, Sean riding around like a horse, Ali and Bec teaching me the sheep song, which inevitably lead to....
* THE SHEEP OPERA!!!!!!!!
*Kate and I getting giggly for some reason, and acting out 'Galoomph went the little green frog' with a toy frog at our billet Rachel's house, while she was on the phone
*Then having lovely dinner table conversation about heart shaped scabs and kitchen burns (mine, of course)
*Being with the eastern suburbs people eg Tharma, as they realised how some people live out in the west
* Ali and Bec being 6 years old, and me being 4 and a half. I start big school next year
*Ajo thinking Pier's mum was cute...and Mike laughing during the prayers because of that
*Fondue! Strawberries and raspberries and blueberries and banana, all dipped in chocolate
There's probably a lot more...but I can't think of any at the moment. And today I get to put the Christmas tree up!!
Some notable moments..the ones I can remember anyway
*Ash's van...sitting in the back seat with no suspension and going over speed humps. Awesome
* Doug's 'wafer? wafer?'. I don't know if I'll ever eat a wafer again, just for the principle of it.
* The girls photography outing to the lake
* 'Macquarie, the Innovative University! Whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop!'
* Not quite as good a catchcry....'Fenner fenner fenner, funner funner funner...then I have no idea what came next'
* Frozen custard
* Everyone trying on my hats eg. Jono, Robbo, Sean, Jasmin, Kath...I hope no one has headlice!
*Walking to Rydges....and then hundreds of crazy, dusty uni students walking into Rydges with people in suits looking at us
*All that singing! Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun
* Kate, me, Nat and Jarryd getting back in the same strand group again
* Playing with trolleys in the Fenner dining hall with Shan and Sean (their names sound the same...heehee)
*Later on, looking at Doug riding in a trolley and realising there is a big difference between being pushed down a corridor in a dining hall and being pushed down a hill onto a road.
*Getting to Blacktown, and being asked if play time was all organised...yes, the look on Matt's and my face must have been priceless
*The kids ministry team...what more can I say. Good idea putting the most immature people on mission in a team together. Kath's crazy dances, Sean riding around like a horse, Ali and Bec teaching me the sheep song, which inevitably lead to....
* THE SHEEP OPERA!!!!!!!!
*Kate and I getting giggly for some reason, and acting out 'Galoomph went the little green frog' with a toy frog at our billet Rachel's house, while she was on the phone
*Then having lovely dinner table conversation about heart shaped scabs and kitchen burns (mine, of course)
*Being with the eastern suburbs people eg Tharma, as they realised how some people live out in the west
* Ali and Bec being 6 years old, and me being 4 and a half. I start big school next year
*Ajo thinking Pier's mum was cute...and Mike laughing during the prayers because of that
*Fondue! Strawberries and raspberries and blueberries and banana, all dipped in chocolate
There's probably a lot more...but I can't think of any at the moment. And today I get to put the Christmas tree up!!
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