Muckadilla

So, The Outback. No, not the restaurant. I’m talking the real, honest, actual bush walking, kangaroo hunting, livestock raisin’, desert meets farming Aussie Outback. It was awesome. A totally different pace of life from what us city folk are used to. It was Geoff’s sister’s home and they live on 40,000 acres give or take just outside of ‘Muckadilla’ – could there be a better name for a town? They raise cattle, sheep and goats, but they also have wild goats, emu, and kangaroos. It’s his sister, her husband, and one hired man that run the whole thing. They were very kind and generous, drove us around the land and gave us an Australian Safari. It was fun seeing the Roos and Wallaby hopping about. Right now they are in the middle of a very difficult drought so there’s not much for their stock to eat. But they don’t complain much. They trust the good Lord for what they need, and live by sun up and sundown. It’s a simple but not easy way of life and I can see how it could be very rewarding. The first thing you notice is the quiet, followed by all the stars at night. It is always amazing to “be still and know”…

I (Jason) got up at 3:45 in the morning and climbed a local mountain with some of the “mates” from here. In the words of one of them, “A- maze- ing”. The views were incredible, and the climb was sketchy at best. But it was awesome to be out and about in God’s creation. We feel very at home here, because so much of the culture and terrain is similar to California. Geoff and Lyndal have been great friends to have here. So generous with their time and resources. God has surrounded us with wonderful people both home and abroad and we are thankful.

We leave on Tuesday to go up the northern coast so we may be out of internet for a while but we’re getting close to coming home, we miss everyone, we’re excited to see you soon, and Australia is “A- maze- ing”.

Aussie Land

Not gonna lie, we’re pretty stoked to be introduced to Aussie Land. Friends of Steve & Kris Smith have welcomed us in and made us feel right at home. We’ve indulged in the simple pleasures like carpeted floors, thick mattresses, and mosquito-free walks. We’re just outside of Brisbane, which has stunningly endless skies and many places to explore within 100 km. or less. Tonight I’m going to put my Thai cooking class to the test and tomorrow we’re heading to the Outback … yes, THE Outback … for a few days. Cheers!

asia in the rear-view mirror

Today we counted to figure out that we've spent 4-1/2 of the last 6+ months in Asia. That ends tonight. Wow. We're on our way to Australia now, which we're super excited to explore. We are so grateful for the "play time" the Father is giving us, not to mention the cushion of a cultural stepping stone.

I wonder what Asia will look like in our rear-view mirror. To be honest, we never would have chosen to come to Asia, so it's funny that it's dominated our trip. But we've loved so much of it and been introduced to an important side of the world that we couldn't really appreciate without our time here.

V-Tech, PBA & Norco

This year has placed me in positions where I’ve felt more vulnerable than ever before – between traffic insanities, diseases I can’t even pronounce carried by bugs of all shapes and sizes, political instability and loud protests, questionable standards or transportation, villages where people have been arrested and/or martyred for their faith – recently, and a passport from a country now known as a target. We’ve been in places where it wouldn’t be all that surprising to have something devastating happen, something even fatal – because it has, and it just so happens that it wasn’t to us. I’m not going to pretend it’s been easy to be in those situations because the spirit of fear takes possibilities and makes the thought of them nearly paralyzing were it not for the One who is stronger than fear. But a classroom on a Virginia Campus is what we see has claimed the lives of over 30 people? This is crazy-making. A classroom never ranked on my most-vulnerable list.

The U.S. Supreme Court just surprised a lot of Americans by maintaining a ban on a procedure that surprises most of the world. I remember sitting with several international friends when partial-birth abortion was being debated in the Supreme Court back in 2000. “Barbaric” was the term they used – most of them from ‘liberal’ countries, all working in human rights and thinking the U.S. has no right pointing fingers at other human rights abuses while we continue to allow such procedures. How an article can in the same paragraph describe the procedure of crushing a fetus’ head and articulate that it could be considered anything less than murder honestly baffles me.

Last night we were watching a movie called “Rapid Fire”, based on a bank robbery that turned into the most violent battle of U.S. Law Enforcement history. It took place in Norco. Here we are sitting in Asia, reflecting on weeks and months of vulnerability that the Father has taken us through, and the movie we’re watching of such desperate and purposeless violence is taking place in NORCO.

In just over a month we return to our indigenous roots. I had a dream the other night – I was going to a play, one where I had a role but hadn’t learned my lines or remembered my cues from my Acting Coach. Countries all around this world are hurting, and ours is not an exception. The evil and desperation that would lead a 23-year old to shoot people because he was teased by rich brats … the disconnection from logic in debating the killing of a living fetus … the violence brought on by a drive for nothing more than money. This is the set stage for the roles we all have to play. What are our lines? What are our cues? What has our Acting Coach been teaching us that we need to put into practice?

You just gotta see it

The last day of the Festival (Sunday) we made our way down to a local Starbucks that boasts a third story. From this vantage point we were able to capture these moments for you to get an idea of what we were trying to describe. We of course got drenched again on the way back, but it was a hot day, and even when you want to get mad when a bucket's dumped on you, those dang smiles keep you laughing.