PRAISE GOD!!!

Two girls from home(in Peru) that had been removed by their parents back into an abusive situation are coming back tomorrow!!! I can't believe it! God is so GOOD!!! We were so very sorry to see them go, because we love them so much, and we knew what was going to happen once they left, but God has beed so gracious, and Roxie and Maria are COMING HOME!!!! I wanna scream and cry and laugh all at once!!!! Ohhhhhh!

I gotta go tell Hannah!!!

So I had my first taste of Fish 'n' Chips today... I must say it was amazing, and a wonderful addition to the already lovely day I was having. We went to a Church to the North of town, where they were having a Gospel themed weekend, complete with a wonderful African-style gospel choir. Everyone there was quite excited about our 'amazing accents' and asked if their gospel choir were authentic! Haha! It's funny how different things are when you're in another place. Then we drove back along the coast, and it was so amazingly beautiful, even in Winter, and we stopped to get some fish and chips at a little food place on the beach. I think that's one of the things we're going to eat in Heaven (...without the regrets that naturally follow eating that much grease in one sitting...)

Well, I must go end this day with Kitchen duty... G'day to all yous, mates! =)

Currently Listening Sleep Through The Static By Jack Johnson see related

Aussie

So I'm here! It's still just sinking in... I had a wonderful flight in, contrary to what I thought(I'm definately going to try to fly Singapore Airlines back!), and haven't had TOO much trouble with jet-lag, though I am still getting tired around 6-7 pm. (last night, though I stayed up till like 9:30...I'm so proud of me! =)

Perth was the most beautiful city I've ever flown into. It's so colorful! All the roofs were pretty much different folors, and everything was so spread out and mixed in with trees and big spaces of red and yellow (haven't figured out what those were yet). Perth is actually the world's most isolated city, with no other civilization for 90 kilometers each way. It's almost like having a really big small town, just because of the atmosphere. Everyone here is so unique! Walking down the road downtown I felt as if I were somewhere that was a mix between Texas and Europe--big, warm and friendly and yet small, old and artsy at the same time. It was wonderful!

Everything here is shortened. You don't say 'Australia' or Australian, you say 'Aussie'; you don't say 'chicken' you say 'chicko'; it's not 'the salvage box', it's 'salvo'; and if you're  a very small distance away, or if it's really, really early in the morning, it's just a 'sparrow's fart'!!! Fortunately Sarah is already short, so they couldn't very well do much with it, and have let me alone.

Yesterday we had an outing, I guess you could say, like a base game-day, and I was introduced to some Australian sports. They were pretty fun! The most outstanding of them was 'bicket-ball' which is pretty much a free-for-all with no rules except 'get the ball in the plastic crate (sorry, bucket I mean) at all costs', which everyone followed with a passion. The game begins thus: the ball (basically a soccer ball) is placed in the center of the field, and both teams gather around their respective 'buckets'. When the whistle is blown, everyone charges, yelling like comanchees, and whoever gets there first either kicks the ball, or grabs it up, or throws it, or does whatever he doggone wants to with it, with the intent of getting it somehow closerto the opposing team's 'bucket'! Hannah and I were sitting on the sidelines talking when we first saw this. It was quite hilarious! It reminded me of Braveheart, where the two armies charge eachother!

Lately I have been pretty emotional. Maybe it's just that time of the month, I don't know. But I think it has to do with the fact that I am a stuffer, and I made the conscious decision to not stuff any more. I'm going to allow myself to feel again, so that life doesn't go by in one big 'deal with it and get on with life.' It's been pretty hard, even leading to some stress attacks as I allowed myself to feel the weight of everything I was carrying. But God has been so gentle...

Today was pretty emotional as well, as my sister Hannah and I sat down and went through a lot of stuff, personal and businesslike, and I expressed my worries about the amazing amount of money we still need for the schools (which are beginning to loom on the horizon, i.e. two weeks away). I am missing him, a lot lately as well. I need him to be strong for me, but he hasn't come yet...

Then my dear friend, also named Sarah, came in from having a bad day, and as I sat comforting her, God put words of encouragement in my mouth. As I spoke them I realized that He was speaking to me as well.

He said, Sarah, you are beautiful, and you have a Father who is so proud of you! He just wishes so badly that you could feel His arms around you, because it's really Him who is carrying you. All this stuff is just too heavy for you, and you couldn't carry it anyway, so stop wasting your time trying, because He's carrying you anyway! Everything is going to be ok...

I cried as I realized that it was for me, too. He is so good!

and I'm back!

Here I am in the States once more, and in Friendswood no less! I'm so very excited, and once culture shock wore off, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Tomorrow we leave for the Safari!! woohoo!