july 4

Hello everybody,

So far vacation...i mean journey in Australia has been great.

Ok a quick update on where I have been and what I’ve been doing.

On the night of June 20th I got off the plain in the Gold coast after a 1 and a half hour plane ride and caught a taxi with Daralynne and Tyler C. It was dark and the ground was still wet. I was praying that we would get nice weather during the week. We got to our place and discovered it was a nice resort and our room had a great view. We watched the first half of Boondock Saints but we were too tired so the 3 of us went to bed.

I woke up just after noon on Saturday the 21st and it was Hot! I went out on the balcony and it was clear skies with a beautiful view of the ocean. I sat outside talking to my dad for a half hour and I was sweating afterwards, it was cooking. later in the day, after we had went to pancakes in paradise for brekkie (at 3pm!) more people arrived. Colton, Travis D, Stacia, Kylie, Tamar, Jenn and Mike came in the afternoon and Adam H came after we had dinner. Tyler C, Daralynne and I went with Adam H to get more dinner, he bought us pizza. The 4 of us went to our unit (Kylie also got a unit for the week, but I think ours was way nicer) and we watched the illusionist.
On Sunday the 22nd it was warm again (25ish) and clear skies, we hung out on the beach for a few hours, i went for a swim with Tyler C and Adam H, then sat on the beach. Travis made some Spaghetti (Really good) for dinner.

Monday the 23rd was my birthday. I woke up around 11, it was sunny and hot with clear skies again, and went down to the pool where Adam was relaxing. We talked for an hour, then Tyler C joined us and we went in the spa (hot tub...but not actually hot, just warm) we hung out there til around 2, then they took me out for a little birthday lunch, i had fish and chips. We went to the other unit and watched a bit of tv and some people napped. I went and found an internet place and went on the net for 20 minutes. Later we went up to the rooftop bbq and Travis made some really good bbq chicken. After waiting for the girls, we went to outback jacks for my birthday dinner. I got all you can eat ribs of course, and they gave me a plate of spaghetti first, then I finished off two plates of ribs. After that we got the “death by ice cream’ sundae, it was massive. Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla ice cream, chocolate shell, caramel topping, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and marshmellows. Hmm. Afterwards we all went back to our place, Adam H, Tyler C, Daralynne, Jenn and I were going to watch a movie, so the rest of them left to go be loud and drink at the other place. We watched American Gangster. It was a great and memorable birthday, 21 in Australia!

On Tuesday I got up and talked to my sister for a while, and to my mom for a bit, while sitting on the balcony enjoying the warmth and clear sky. It was great to catch up with family this week. Colton and I made our way to the beach and hung out there for more then an hour. The others went shopping and then we had lunch on another part of the beach and did some surfing (Travis rented 3 boards for a day). After the sun set, Adam, Tyler, Daralynne and I went to Macdonalds and got some dinner, and watched Charlie Wilson’s War and Awake. Both good movies.

On Wednesday we of course went to the beach again, and it was beautiful again (clear sky and warm). I lay on the beach for 3 or 4 hours, it was cool and I didn’t even come close to getting burnt. Afterwards I went on the net for a bit and found a shoelace for my shoe. Wednesday night we went to a little beachside bar to watch the sunset, then made a great meal of steak, potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and kebabs. Tyler, Daralynne and I watched I am legend ( i think ive watched that about 4 times since I came to Australia.). I said bye to mostly everyone.

On Thursday it was time to leave. After waking up early and saying bye to Daralynne, I walked to the bus stop with all my stuff and with two awesome friends during my time at Capernwray and got some coffee. The bus was coming so we ran outside to the stop and just as Adam got to the door to stop it, the bus driver closed the door and drove away, amid our yelling. It was disappointing but actually good because it gave us the chance to have a last chat and have a good goodbye (or see you later) as I waited for the next bus. I got on the bus and it got to the train station just as the train left, so i waited half an hour for the next one. I took the train into Brisbane where Geoff, Renata and Greg picked me up in their car. We drove about 4 or 5 hours, detouring to see some sights, to meet the Queensland mission trip team in Hervey Bay (across from Fraser Island). We got there and I was reunited with Mark, Cheryl, Lisa, Sean, Kim, Maxi and Melissa from Capernwray. We (including the 3 I came up with) all went to a concert where the African orphan choir group from Uganda that is on tour was performing. It was really good. Afterwards we set up tents in Hervey Bay.

Friday the 27th was Fraser Island day. We rented two 4WD Utes (utility vehicles) and took the barge across to Fraser Island at 8:30. We got across and started driving Fraser Island. It is an Island that is made entirely of sand, but it has big hills, trees, plants and dingoes. The roads are all sand and that is why you have to have a 4wd vehicle to drive on the island. We drove across to the east side where the 75 mile beach is. 75 miles=125 kilometers! Thats all one beach, a large section of it is entirely straight. (check it out on a map). We drove probably 30 miles up and explored the beach, doing some surfing behind the truck for a bit until we got into trouble. We explored Fraser Island, then rushed back to get to the barge to take us back at 4. We ddin’t realize how long it would take i guess and we missed it by 15 minutes. It was cool but sucky. We weren’t expecting to be stuck, but it was the last barge going back, so we would have to stay the night somewhere and find food. Maxi booked us into a resort where we all stayed and some of us bought dinner. We swam in the hot tub, but it was wierd, it wasn’t hot. It was barely warm, it was definitely much warmer than the pool though. We ran around in it a bit which was fun. I had to store my contacts in a glass haha.

On Saturday morning we got up and left the place we stayed at by 6:30 and we drove to Lake Mackenzie on the Island. It was a really cool lake, totally clear water, a few of us drank some of the water, tasted pretty decent. We drove back and caught the barge at 9am. When we got back to the campsite where our tents were still set up, Melissa made us some bacon and eggs, yum. We started our trip to Mackay (pronounced Macai) at half past 12. It was a long trip, but we made it to Mackay just after midnight, after a half hour detour just outside Mackay because of an accident. The 8 of us got split up, us 4 guys stayed at one billets house for the night, 3 of the girls went to one and one (Lisa) went to another. It was kind of annoying to be split up on our last week together, but oh well.

On Sunday the 29th we went to Mackay Church of Christ, it was good. Then in the afternoon we went to Barbs parents house for lunch. Barb was student at Capernwray with us, it was cool to see her again and it was a good time hanging out there. Afterwards we had to split up more, Sean and I got sent to another billet, and Kim left the other 2 girls and went to another billet. That night we helped out with youth at Iona west uniting church, it was cool. I shared my testimony at that church’s service that night and our group played two songs. We had sausage sizzles and talked to people after the service. That day we discovered that it is hot in Mackay in winter, 25ish with humidity everyday (well the group that came up here on prac week in May found out it can be rainiy and cooler too).

On Monday the 30th. We did a little shopping, then took Barb out for a picnic and hung out at a beach/grassy area. Once again we had clear hot skies. We went to an internet cafe then went to a music practice. Mark, Cheryl and I just threw a Frisbee around. Monday night we watched the Sound of Music.

Tuesday July 1, Happy Canada day! We went out to camp eagle early in the morning and took down some stuff and helped organize a bit. We ran around town afterwards getting dvds made for the camp Eagle recovery party (reunion party?) that night. The recovery party was at 7, and there weren’t alot of people there, it was good though.

Wednesday the 2nd. One of the guys I talked to on Sunday night, who is just out of youth, said we could use his sailboat, well we ended up using his dads, but we did get out sailing around 11. It was fun, the first time I’ve been sailing I think. We split up into two groups because it was a small boat. Then we had some fish and chips and a group of us (well not me) tried sailing again at the harbour when there was no wind with Latoya. The 2 guys on the boat actually had to get out and swim and push the boat a bit, after they had paddled for quite awhile. Latoya is the 15 year old sister of the flatmate of one the lady’s who hosted us that week, Jonelle. Latoya hung out with us a bit during the week, which was cool. Wednesday night we each had dinner with our hosts, it was interesting, getting to know the couple that hosted us, and discovering that most locals think the summer is too hot and love winter...hmm different mindset.

On Thursday we went to the skatepark to help with a skate tour/competition put on by Red Frog. There were a ton of kids, but not really alot for most of us to do, except Mark and Latoya who are skateboarders, they had fun. the rest of us cooked up lunch and just watched mostly. On Thursday night we went to the youth rally put on by the Red Frog team, it was really good, not a great turnout, but I really enjoyed, i got to go onstage as a volunteer for the illusionist guy, and two guys came up and told great testimonies/ messages. A few kids accepted Christ as Lord, which was awesome, and I felt like God was talking to me a bit that night too.

Today we got up at 3:30am and eventually made it out of town by 4:30am, for a long drive to the Gold Coast. It took about 16 hours but we made it to surfers paradise/gold coast. I have been billeted out with Mark and we are staying at an amazing house. Its really cool.

Picture count = 3700! 1300 to go in the next 4 weeks!

Thats about it, having good times here, spending time with friends, making the most out of my opportunities and learning more each day.

Thanks for reading.

From Down Under,

Adam