Noosh Time

Entry # 200 ... Milestones and Millstones

2012-01-26T15:29:00.001+11:00

I can't believe that this is my 200th entry in my BLOG ... after over 10 years of blogging ... I finally made it to #200!!

On Sunday, 22 January 2012, Kaylah turned 1 year old ... I'm sure she probably won't live to be 200 but nonetheless, it is so exciting to see new life growing every day. She is like a giant, yet mini sponge - learning sounds to make mostly unintentionally spoken words, learning new skills such as crawling like a dog holding some inanimate object between her teeth and now, more recently, she's taken to holding two objects in one hand! I watch her in amazement at each new achievement and milestone being attained, grappled with, incorporated, learnt until it becomes second nature and then surpassed for the next "bigger and better" thing to be tried, tested and utilised in the journey of life! Amazing!

I find myself in awe of her ability, desire and natural instinct to learn and be taught! I questioned if I was still that keen to learn and be taught by God and others who are more learned than I and it caused me to pause and reflect on this for a long while. At what point in our lives, if ever, do we think we've got it, learnt all there is to learn about ourselves and think that we just know it all and have achieved it all whether it be status, significance, or just pure personal satisfaction?! I believe if we ever did think we have reached this point, it would be a sad day for us and those around us because, there is always more to learn, skills to be tried and tested, goals to yearn for, reach and surpass and someone who is able to teach us more about ourselves than we already know.

I hope I never get bored of learning new things about myself, about God and about the world ... I pray that I will constantly be surprised and never offended when, either directly or inadvertently, I discover inadequacies about myself that can be changed, flaws and rough edges that can be smoothed and rounded and sharp bits that can be chipped away to reveal a deeper, inner beauty that is pleasing and acceptable to God and those around me.

Let me never be held back or forced under by millstones that gather around my neck ... millstones that I have allowed others to place upon me or that I have unwittingly and sometimes knowingly placed around my own neck! If I permit these millstones to shadow or destroy the milestones I wish to achieve, life will grind to a halt, learning will cease to be exciting, motivating and challenging and the future will be mundane and predictable. Millstones are heavy and serve one main purpose which is to grind grain to a fine powder in order to be used as flour which is then recreated into bread and other delicious edible delights. Millstones serve a "destructive" purpose, therefore, if they are "hanging around our neck" and not encouraging or motivating us to change for something good, we are in danger of allowing them to simply weigh us down to our own detriment and potentially, our own self destruction.

Change is exciting ... scary no doubt, but worth the effort for the many different outcomes and possibilities that the process may bring. Just as Kaylah's world has changed so dramatically in 1 year, her transformation from being a dependent infant who couldn't do a thing for herself to holding two objects in one hand, babbling joyful sounds and jigging up and down doing her own little belly dance, have shown me that my world can and should continue to change too! My desire this year, 2012 is to draw closer to knowing God through learning, reading, teaching, being taught, grappling with His word, expecting to sense His presence through the power of the Holy Spirit, praying with confidence that He hears my murmurs and altogether being an obedient servant and vessel for His glory!

If nothing else, my milestones will not be hindered by my millstones!

This photo somehow reminded me that I put "millstones" around my neck like I wrap a scarf around my neck from time to time ... it serves a purpose but I don't need it to be there permanently thank goodness!

Fleeting Creativity vs Everlasting Artistic Genius

2012-01-14T23:05:00.001+11:00

Do you ever have moments where you experience a side of yourself that doesn't often get a chance to be seen or heard? In my case, I sometimes do little projects that make me feel creative and artistic when I am by no means very adept at being either of those descriptives!! But ... at the moment, I am working on a little project for Kaylah's 1st birthday and it has reminded me of how truly amazingly creative and artistic God is ... in all things!

I refer again to Louie Giglio as my real source of inspiration for my recent thinking and I want to just share some of the things that I have found to be overwhelmingly powerful and convincing that God is real ... not that I ever doubted that however, sometimes, it is just good to be reminded of God's reality!

When God created the earth and everything that is in it ... he created all things from "no-thing" - Louie Giglio's description, not mine, but nonetheless, a very interesting thought! According to Louie, at this point in time, scientists are excited about "dark matter" and how important it is that, what is actually not visible to the naked eye, is extremely vital to the sustainability of our planet!! But hang on a minute ... isn't that what the Bible tells us in Genesis and again in Hebrews 11:1-3:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."

I sometimes freak out when I think about what heaven is going to be like because, I believe or at least hope that, our eyes will be fully opened to the wonder of God but even then, we may not be able to comprehend God completely because He is just so beyond us. Hopefully, however, we will have an opportunity to learn so much more about God's plan for the universe, and how the earth fits into that plan ... and even further still how we, as individuals, fit into that plan because God is an intimate and personal God.

My fleeting creativity in small projects fades into obscure insignificance in comparison to a mighty, everlasting artistic genius, the God of the Bible, who could speak and command such an amazing feat of nature, our earth, into existence from "no-thing"! Praise God for wanting to even know us after that!

Reflections ... and Stirrings ...

2012-01-12T11:41:00.002+11:00

We have just entered the year 2012 ... 12 days ago to be precise and I can't help but stop and reflect on my life to date and all the amazing adventures I have experienced! I will be turning 40 years old in May this year ... WOW ... that's such an amazing milestone, I can hardly believe it ... but it has also made me think about what I still want to achieve and how I want to be reminded of God's faithfulness every day so that I can continue living in a sacraficial way in order to bring God glory. I'm so far from being able to do this, but I've also found that writing my thoughts down brings them into a sharper focus of reality rather than a simple desire and/or mere whimiscal mind space!

I feel like I've been on a long and often very "dry" journey these past two years with so many things happening in my life which created such a self focus that was, almost, inevitable, but never my real purpose or aim ... it just kind of happened ... and I let it. And now that time is over ... it's time to refocus my eyes on Christ and look to Him for wisdom and guidance in all things!

I was listening to a fantastic sermon by Louie Giglio, Pastor of Passion City Church ( www.passioncitychurch.com ) on being unusual ie. living an unusual life, not conforming to the norm, not being caught up in following society for the sake of being the same as everyone else but striving to be different, to be unusual - set apart from the norm, bringing glory to God and the passage he was focussing on is Romans 11:33-36 and a bit into Chapter 12 but I am so moved and challenged by the weight of the following words ...

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

Is that not just an amazing reminder of who God is?? I just had to repeat them over and over again until their fullness had sunk in ... and is still sinking in to the depths of my heart and understanding of God ... oh ... to know God so much more intimately is my primary desire right now! Of course I love Brad and Kaylah to bits and they are of primary importance in my life but I have to put God first ... I am ashamed to think that I let him slide into third place there for a while, yet I realise now that He cannot be anything but in first place always for He deserves this position without a shadow of a doubt!

God is so creative, so artistic, so beautiful in his design and creation ... these three photos of a cloud, a flower and a gorgeous baby Kukkaburra bird remind me of His great provision!

More and more, the attitudes of my heart must be reminded of God's amazing love, faithfulness and forgiveness and my thankfulness and gratitude must move me forward to speaking in love, thinking in love, responding in trust and faith and forgiving in abundance for He forgave me first. I am so encouraged and uplifted today to keep on sharing my thoughts with whoever wants to listen and/or read ... may God's Holy Spirit be an ever present light in your life too!

Our Story Continues ....

2012-01-12T09:47:00.009+11:00

Well, I've been encouraged to continue writing our story and since it has been a long time since my last post, I thought, what better time to write than now, just before Kaylah turns 1 year old on 22 January 2012!!

I thought I should at least post one or two photos from our wedding since I hadn't put any of them on having been off line for so long ... so here are a few from what was a very special and amazing celebration of our love ... I still think about this day and love it more every time I see the photos!! God is so good to me ... for bringing Brad into my life ... I'm so thankful for him!

And Kaylah is like an Angel from heaven brought to earth to fulfill our lives ... I can't believe how this year has flown and my little miracle chicken has grown into a gorgeous little babbling toddler, full of curiosity and mischief with loads of character!! She has brought us so much joy and laughter in the year gone by and a few nightmares too ... but she is loved and cherished beyond what any words could suitably describe! I thought I should post a few photos of her ... from 4 days old to ... 1 year old (almost!)!!

Happy Birthday to our precious darling baby girl Kaylah Grace on 22 January 2012 - we love you to bits!!

Update from Noosh ... 2011

2011-04-01T11:22:00.004+11:00

Well, as you can imagine, it has been a very long time since I last wrote anything on my BLOG and there are a number of reasons for this but without further explanation, where are things at now?

On Saturday, 5 September 2009, I married Brad in a wonderful wedding ceremony and we celebrated in style with family and friends at a fantastic reception ... what an amazing blessing and superb day in our lives ... memories for a lifetime.

We then took a 6 week honeymoon and toured through Canada, parts of the USA and spent a final week relaxing in Fiji ... it was the best holiday I have ever been on and so much more special being able to spend it with my new husband and love of my life, Brad!

After settling back into the normalities of life, we discovered that we were pregnant which was a complete miracle from God, however, sadly, our first little one became an Angel at just 5 weeks old and we mourned what would have been. However, we were also encouraged beyond belief that God could create a miracle child for us naturally and so we moved into 2010 with positive hope and excitement of things to come.

By May 2010, I was pregnant again and this time, our little "NooBoo" was strong and stole our hearts! The pregnancy was not without challenges and emotional highs and lows with a bunch of anxieties (whether founded or not) thrown in and by 36 weeks, I had developed pre-eclampsia and so our beautiful baby girl was born on 22/01/2011 - Kaylah Grace. What a miracle and an absolute blessing of love from above ... she is the joy of our lives!!

Brad & Vanoosh : Engagement - New Year's Eve 2008

2009-03-23T06:35:00.007+11:00

For those of you who are not on Face Book, or who did not receive my Nov/Dec 08 newsletter, I am delighted to announce that on New Year's Eve, I got engaged to a wonderful, Australian, Brad ... amid much excitement and happiness ... and we are now preparing for our wedding on Saturday, 5 September 2009 in Sydney, Australia.

I am thankful to God for his faithfulness ... Brad has made me so happy and we are looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together! To God be all the glory for the way in which he brought us together ... the paths of our lives crossed at the right moment and will forever be changed and it's really funny to think that he brought us from Australia to the other side of the world to fall in love and take us back to Australia to make a decision to be together forever!! God has a sense of humour ... of this I am certain ... but I'm also praising God for bringing Brad into my life and turning my world upside down with His love through Brad!

This is Brad and I on Monday, 5 January 2009 - we chose our engagement ring together and I just love it ... it's a perfect symbol of our love ...

Brad & I celebrating our engagement with his family on the Gold Coast

My gorgeous fiancé, Brad ...!!

Brad & I spending the day at Paradise Point with Ode, Nikki & Tristin

Logos Hope Arrives in Gothenburg, Sweden - Fri, 20 Feb 09

2009-02-20T22:02:00.001+11:00

Logos Hope arrived safely and docked in Gothenburg, Sweden this morning at about 9.30am local time - we were all outside on the outer decks and it was freeeeeeeeezzzzing but fun!! A lot of the harbour and especially in our docking area, the water is full of big, chunky ice blocks and it was snowing on arrival.

The city looks beautiful with much snow around - I can't believe it has been 10 years since I was last here!

The sailing was smooth and calm all the way. We stopped for some time to do life boat drills with the starboard side life boats which had not been used for approx. 6 months; all went well. Unfortunately, we had some drama with our new generator which blew a transformer and had to be shut down so hopefully, there won't be any problems fixing it up!

We will sail for The Netherlands on Monday, 23 Feb 09, expecting to arrive in Harlingen on Wednesday, 25 Feb 09!

Greetings to all from Sweden!

Logos Hope Sails into Ministry : Thurs, 19 Feb 09

2009-02-20T21:32:00.000+11:00

A historic moment in the history of Logos Hope was achieved today, Thursday, 19 Feb 09 when the Logos Hope departed from Køge, Denmark and commenced it's maiden voyage with PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) status, heading towards Gothenburg, Sweden!

It felt really surreal being able to leave the port whilst being ON the ship ... sailing ... after 18 months of being tied to one or another quayside or watching the ship sail without me, it was both exciting and overwhelming to be part of this moment!

We arrived in Gothenburg this morning around 9.30am - it was snowing and freeeeezing cold but we braved the elements to be on the outer decks for the arrival - so much fun!! We also became a bit of an icebreaker as much of the harbour, especially around where we have docked is iced up! The sail was smooth and calm which was awesome ... no sea sickness, only very tired!

I have now only got 6 weeks left on board before I depart on 3 Apr 09 and head back to Australia on 9 Apr 09 which is also exciting!! I am ready to leave the ship, I think that despite the excitement of sailing, it is just not as much fun without having Brad here with me, sharing this time together and serving God together! However, I'm looking forward to being home with him and I'm excited about how God will use us for ministry together in the future.

If you would like to view a video of the maiden voyage departure which features me at 00:51 ... check out the link below:

http://www.omships.org/share/index.php?id=2009-02-Maiden_voyage

Photos will be uploaded at a later date ... we have such a slow internet connection now that loading photos is just not feasible unless I wait for hours on end! In addition, we no longer have access to Gmail, Skype, FaceBook or any other web based email accounts except for our ship email: vanessa.archibald@gbaships.org

Don't forget to track the ship on: www.logoshope.org

God Bless!!

What's in a Drop of Water? God's Cross !?

2008-11-26T00:02:00.002+11:00

My Dad is studying his PhD and is looking at Diatoms which live in water ... and this is an amazing example of God's cross permeating all creation ... even microscopic animals display the cross of hope that Jesus Christ brings to the world ... it's so amazing!! Not many people will ever get to see this rare and awe inspiring view of our great Creator's mighty art work in nature. Be Blessed in knowing that the God of Creation is the sovereign and mighty Designer of life in all things ... and can bring hope to the lost around the world ... and He loves you and me personally ... we are His children.

Boholte Confirmation Class Weekend : Egerup : 24-26 Oct 08

2008-10-31T08:16:00.005+11:00

This past weekend, I led a Challenge team of 8 others on a Confirmation Class weekend for my partner church, Boholte Sogn church. The team consisted of (L-R) Sung Chul (South Korea), Sigrid (Mexico), Laura (Finland), So Hee (South Korea), Endre (Norway), Sidorela (Albania), Becca (USA), BK (India) and Me.

It was, without doubt, a huge CHALLENGE!! Some of the kids were quite open about being atheist and not believing in God at all ... ?? Much prayer is needed for these kids who come to Confirmation Classes for all the wrong reasons ... they get presents and money from family and friends and don't really come because they want to know about Jesus or God.

All in all, we had good opportunities to connect with some of them and to share our lives with them ... and plant a few seeds along the way which I hope and pray that God will water and grow.

Here are some photos of the weekend ...

Laura, Me & Becca

Me being very excited to wear my sunnies because it meant that the sun was actually shining!!

Laura & So Hee ... on a country walk with me

The crew (minus Sung Chul) - Becca, Endre, Laura, Sidorela, So Hee, Sigrid, BK and me

Mum & Dad Visit The Logos Hope : 8 Oct 08 -11 Oct 08

2008-10-12T02:51:00.003+11:00

Mum and Dad arrived on Wednesday night and spent 3 nights on board the Logos Hope. We had a wonderful time together - chatting up a storm till the wee hours and catching up on our lives ... there was much to tell! It was also very special for me to be able to show them around the Logos Hope and to introduce them to many of my friends. They treated Celina, Marsha and I to a night out which was delicious and a real treat! I spent a day walking around Koge and a day walking around Copenhagen with Mum & Dad and we just had a great time together ... Praise God the weather was good on every day too as I was expecting rain and cold weather but it was sunny with blue skies for the most part so that was awesome! It was sad to say Goodbye to them as I have no idea when we will see each other again ... but I'm blessed by God for such wonderful parents!!

LEGOLAND : Denmark, Mon 11 Aug 08

2008-08-13T06:10:00.005+10:00

As a treat for the whole of the Logos Hope community, some generous supporters from the UK paid for us all to spend a day at LEGOLAND, Denmark ... it was a blast of fun!! I spent the day going around the park and having a blast of fun with CeCe, Arjan, Brad, Hadassah and Jack ... and we bumped into heaps of other friends along the way ... it wa a hoot of laughs and screaming!!

LogOscars : Saturday, 26 Jul 08

2008-07-26T19:00:00.002+10:00

Well we have many talented and creative people on board the Logos Hope and so we had to give them a creative outlet in the form of short movies and the prize was none other than a "LogOscar" ... and we all dressed up to celebrate an evening at the LogOscars!! Here are just a few pics of the evening ... promise to put a few more in another time!

Something is not working with the BLOG site and I can't add photos yet ... will keep trying!

Fun in Finland : 4 Jul 08 to 11 Jul 08

2008-07-17T03:10:00.014+10:00

As many of you may be aware, I have only 14 days of break time in the 2 year period that I'm on the Logos Hope so I decided that I had to use my time wisely. A dream I've had since 1999 was to go to Finland since I missed out on visiting there at that time and so when I decided to have a break, Finland was the unrivalled destination, especially since I am living in the Scandanavian/Nordic region right now and I could be blessed to visit friends all along the way!

On Friday, 4 Jul 08 at 12:45 I left Copenhagen and flew up to Tampere, Finland.

Flying in over Tampere ...

After making my way into the city centre, I met up with Glenn, Sirje and Pilvi Cook who most of you know from our Sydney days! We took a long walk up a big hill to a great viewing look out and I got to see Tampere from a bird's eye view! It is a beautiful city with, as is common throughout most of Finland, lakes and water everywhere! That evening, we had a cosy meal at home and caught up on old times.

Birds eye view of Tampere and surrounding areas ...

The next day, we spent time exploring the city and Glenn and I were real tourists on a bus tour which took us to a massive 50 metre high church built in the shape of a fish and various other interesting spots.

Glenn, Sirje and Pilvi ... showing me around Tampere

Fish Shaped Church ... I forget the name right now?

The organ and Altar of the church were amazing ... there are no pictures or ornate things to see because, apparently the Lutherans believe that the inside of the church must not distract the believer from focussing on God so they are generally quite plain in appearance ... but quite striking at the same time.

Tampere is made up of a lot of old industrial factories ... the most famous is Finlayson which is responsible for much of the world's textiles and bathtowels I believe. Some of the old factories are in good condition and have been renovated internally to become fancy office spaces!

We stopped for tea at the Amuri Museum which is a square of old Finnish houses that were originally built a few hundred years ago now and are maintained to reflect a slice of history of the good old days!

Pilvi ... is adorable at 18 months ... too cute for words!

An old church in the city centre ... very beautiful!

We also had some fun in the Moomin museum which was fascinating! We had dinner at a little pizza place and then headed home for a well deserved rest! I was so blessed by some neighbours in their apartment block who were away for the summer and offered for me to stay in their place so I had my own little pad for a few days which was just wonderful!

On Sunday morning, we attended a confirmation service at the local Lutheran church up the road and then we had a late lunch together ...

Such a happy and wonderful family ...

I packed my bags and headed off to a little place called Orivesi, about 30 mins by train to the north east of Tampere. Can you believe that I nearly ended up on the west coast, however, when I sat myself comfortably down on the wrong train! There were 2 trains on the same platform going in opposite directions ... however, I managed to climb off as the train was pulling away from the platform having realised my error just at the last minute!

I finally made it to Orivesi where I met up with Aino, a Finnish friend from the ship who left in Jan 08. It was such a relief to see her considering that I arrived nearly 45 mins later than I had told her! I stayed with her at her parent's place and they were just delightful! Her mum went out of her way to make sure that I experienced a number of very traditional Finnish family events!! It started with coffee and cake in the afternoon ... 5 different sorts of cake are provided every tea/coffee time and I was thankful that my coffee cup was small because every time I saw the bottom of it, it was filled up again?! Tee hee ... I couldn't complain ... it was good coffee!!

Finnish Coffee Time ...

Aino's family could not speak much English, however, her mum was so sweet and we often chatted with the help of Aino's translating and a few charades too! After coffee time, we drove down to Aino's grandparents farm property which, to my absolute amazement and wildest excitement, had the most quaint, most serene and most beautiful lake house/cottage with an authentic smoke sauna and boathouse right on the edge of the lake! I felt like I had stepped into the movie "On Golden Pond ..." ... it was the most tranquil place I could have asked to have visited and I was beyond myself with excitement and peaceful happiness!!

I can hardly believe I'm in such a beautiful place ... I didn't want to spoil the surroundings ... oh ... just seeing this takes me back to the very spot!

Views from the Lake House

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would get to experience this truly Finnish lifestyle and I've been told that smoke saunas are particularly rare these days! Aino's mum insisted that we row out onto the lake in an old wooden row boat (about 100 yrs old or more) with creaky paddles!! She rowed us around and we popped into the neigbours place to check out their old house and sauna and then headed back to our little slice of heaven!

The Lake Cottage ...

My sweet Finnish friend, Aino

Views from the Sauna ... a slice of paradise ... with not a soul around and utter, utter peacefulness other than the sounds of nature ...

Aino and her mum rowing us around the lake in the oldest wooden boat I've ever seen ... with wonky, creaky oars ... but what a treat and what fun!

Isn't this just picturesque ... words are not enough to describe it ... make sure you click on the photos for a bigger version!!

The neighbour's traditional living room ... over 100 years old ...

We had smoked sausages over an open fire in the little cottage and Aino's grandmother had made a pile of yummy pancakes!! By 11:30pm the sun was still shining ... and it was really casting a beautiful light through the forest trees ... a beautiful evening!

Sausages and pancakes with Aino's family ...

The following day, after a nice sleep in, Aino took me to explore Orivesi which didn't take long as there are only 2 shops, 1 church and 1 museum in the main street! After lunch, we went bush walking in the forests along a different lake and enjoyed the fresh Finnish air.

Aino and I on our bushwalk around a lake ...

Later, we went home for our Finnish tea party and then back to the Lake House and the sauna wich her grandmother had prepared for us ... well what a treat - we sauned together in our costumes in case you might be wondering ... I don't think I was quite ready for the true Finnish tradition of baring all in the sauna! It was Aino, her mum, her sister Annie and me! We got so hot that getting into the freezing cold lake afterwards was actually a pleasure ... although I still had to take it slowly as it was absolutely freezing - but what an experience!!

Smoky sauna ... here I come!

Aino cooling off ... literally in the freezing lake!

Later that evening, Aino and I took the train back to Tampere and then boarded an overnight train which took us due north to Rovaniemi ... deep into the heart of Lapland, the home of Father Christmas, reindeers and Moose and the land of the midnight sun! After a very uncomfortable 9 hours trying to sleep across 2 train seats, we arrived in Rovaniemi at about 8.00am ... and to our disappointment, the weather was awful - rainy and overcast! We decided to be sensible and took a trip down to a place called Ranua Wildlife Park which is about 80kms south of Rovaniemi and there we got up close and not to personal with many arctic creatures including some playful Polar bears, some baby wolves, a few beautiful Reindeer and some Moose which really made my day! I don't quite know why I'm so fascinated by the Moose and Reindeer but seeing them made me feel like I was really somewhere exotic! I really reflected on how far I had come from the bottom of the world to the top of the world!

Playful Polar with his big blue friend who he tried desperately to drown!!

Polar Bear Fun ...

Siberian Wolf ...

Wild Reindeer ...

A young male Moose ... isn't he a beauty!

Brown Bears ...

A Lynx ...

Reindeer ...

A size comparison ... amazing huh?

After we got back into Rovaniemi, we hopped on a local bus which dropped us at Santa's Village and there, I was able to jump across the Arctic Circle in Lapland!! It was a great moment ... and then we went and met Santa and asked him to be kind to all our friends who have been good this year!! Santa promised to visit you all on 24 December 2008 so that you can have a wonderful Christmas ... and for those of you that haven't been so good ... well I'm sure that Santa might find a soft spot to bring a little something for you too!

After a nice meal out, we crashed into our beds at a very cheap yet respectable youth hostel and although, sadly we didn't get to experience the midnight sun, we did see the midnight clouds and it actually never got dark at all which was quite bizarre!

The following morning, we walked around the city and took some photos, had a quick bite and then jumped on the train at 12:50pm heading back to Tampere. Thankfully, this train was more comfortable and at one point, we clocked speeds of 180km/hour so we were back in 7 hours and arrived around 8.30pm that night. Aino and I said a few sad goodbyes yet again and then I spent a final evening with Glenn and Sirje which was lovely.

At 10.00am on Thursday, 10 Jul 08, I took the train to Helsinki and met up with a great guy called Sami at about midday. He is a friend of a friend from the ship and so he showed me some of the sites of Helsinki and thankfully, the weather was beautifully hot with blue skies and sunshine. I hopped on a little ferry to an island fortress called Saumelinna and spent the day walking around on my own, reflecting on God's goodness in his blessings to me! I was amazed how at each step of the way, he provided blessings and suprises which were unexpected and thrilling and best of all ... at little financial cost which, in my position, was a real bonus! For example, I had booked the hostel for 1 person and when Aino agreed to join me, the price literally halfed so the money I saved went towards a meal out that night?! God is good and His name is glorified in all things!

Famous Lutheran Church in Helsinki

Taking a ferry ride out to the fortress island ... looking back at the city ...

When Sami finished work, he took me on a tour of the city and we spent some time getting to know each other which was fun! We went to this unbelievable rock church called "Temple Church" which is carved into this huge rock ... I can't explain, you have to just check out the photos. We also jumped on and off some trams as I had a very cheap 24 hour ticket which gave me access to all trams, buses and ferries in the city centre. We explored the markets and just enjoyed the city buzz! But I was quite happy to grab a McD's takeaway and head to a lake for a picnic dinner at the end of the day and by 9.00pm, I was completely exhausted! The next day, I spent the day using up my 24 ticket by riding the trams on a loop across the entire city which was great fun ... I then rubbed shoulders with some stardom ... Bruce Springsteen was in town and I got some fun photos of him leaving his hotel which made me feel like I had joined the Papparazzi or something to that effect - tee hee!

Temple Church in the Rock

Sami and an old jammy ...

McD's picnic by the lake ...

Bruce Springsteen ... the Boss ... live and in the flesh!

Later that afternoon, Sami was kind enough to drive me to the airport and by 6:00pm I was back in Copenhagen ... fighting a Metro train breakdown and eventually crawling back onto the Logos Hope at around 9:00pm that night ... it was good to be back but WOW ... what an awesome holiday break! I felt like I'd been away for a month, I appreciated every blessing and savoured every moment and in all honesty, I didn't miss the ship one bit which means I was having so much fun and enjoying myself so much that I didn't have time to miss the ship! I praise God for his glorious creation in the land of Finland with thousands of beautiful lakes and everything so green and lush ... a truly blessed country! I would love to visit again in the winter and experience the transformation of the country into a white and wintry wonderland and if you want a great holiday - take my advice ... visit Finland!!

Logos Hope : Dry Dock in Landskrona, Sweden - 30 May 08 to 22 Jun 08

2008-06-20T07:45:00.005+10:00

The Logos Hope has now been in Landskrona, Sweden for nearly 3 weeks and we are currently sitting high and dry ... literally! I was so excited to be able to be on the ship going into my first dry dock - watching how they positioned the ship and then let all the water out and suddenly ... in a few short hours, we were no longer floating but sitting on some wooden blocks, high and dry!

A big hole was cut in the side of the ship (port side) and the new generator was lowered and installed yesterday and today, the hole was welded up again ... amazing how quickly it all went and so exciting for all of us as we have been praying and waiting for this moment and these events for some months now! Most of our land teams have returned home and so the ship is getting full again after only have about half the normal crew size for the past 2 weeks or so! We've enjoyed amazing sunsets at around 10.15pm every evening when the rain has not dampened things and it's been really interesting to be watching the Euro Cup Final soccer/football matches with such an international crew ... suddenly you see where true loyalties lie amongst the nations ... and the rivalry is sometimes surprisingly fierce!! Ahh ... so much fun to be on the Logos Hope ... but it's also very busy with work, work and work! The ship has been very dirty and dusty with lots of grinding, sanding, welding, painting and various other jobs being completed sometimes slowly but surely! I've been busy managing Project Worker applications and dealing with the delays that have occurred since we were supposed to be in Koege, Denmark on 16 Jun. The ship is now due to sail at around 13:00 on Sun, 22 Jun 08 so that is not far off now.

On the first day we were high and dry, I ventured down into the depths of the dry dock to take a look at the underbelly of my home!! It was absolutely amazing to think that I was standing underneath a 12,000 tonne ship and I was surprised at how clean she was generally speaking with only a few barnacles in places! It was so awesome to get a feel for her great size and the propellers are enormous!! It was also very cool to get a look at her shape and to see where the stabilizers come out and what the bow thruster really looks like which, for those who don't know, gives us the ability to do 360 turning and much more maneouverability.

Anyway, enjoy some photos from my recent experiences ...

Logos Hope Leaves Kiel : 29 May 2008

2008-05-27T08:30:00.000+10:00

I have been in Kiel, Germany for the past 9 months and have made some really wonderful and dear friends who I will miss terribly! The Logos Hope is due to leave Kiel, Germany in the afternoon on Thursday, 29 May 2008 and will have an overnight sail up to Landskrona, Sweden where the ship will go into Dry Dock until approx. 15 June 2008. I will be travelling by bus along with 80 or so others up to Sweden and joining the ship there. The reason for this is that we do not yet have our PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) as yet, however, we are in the final stages of the outfit project and by God's grace, we should be able to achieve this in the next few months ahead. Once we have achieved our PSSC, then all of us will be allowed to travel on the ship so it is a major prayer point!

Easter 2008

2008-03-24T09:34:00.006+11:00

Wishing you all a very Blessed and Happy Easter for 2008!!

Our weekend began with a Communion service on board the Logos Hope on Thursday night which I found to be very moving. On Friday, we had a day of prayer and reflection and had a service in the morning at 9.00am and again at 3.00pm in remembrance of Jesus' death on the cross. Saturday, a fellow crewman, David and I were invited by our German teacher Kaja to join her, her husband, Peter at her parent's home for a traditional German Easter Bonfire night. It was so much fun!! We had a delicious homemade tea party with about 25 people and then, we went out into the freezing cold, but beautiful, garden and stood around a massive bonfire, singing songs, dancing around the fire and then stuck bread dough on sticks and baked them before putting some snags on the "BBQ" along with some jacket potatos! It was unlike any BBQ I've ever been to before but it was a hoot of fun!

Kaja & I ... firm friends through the sharing of language!

Kaja & Peter

Easter Bonfire snags and bread sticks!

Kaja, David & Peter enjoy afternoon tea together ...

This morning, Sunday, I attended a sunrise service on Deck 9 of the LH - it was amazing to see that the storm from the previous 2 days had blown over and the sea was now completely flat and calm ... and the sun actually came out and we had blue skies all day however, an icy, biting wind picked up later in the afternoon which kept the mercury under 5 degrees!! In the afternoon, I went for a walk with some friends along the promenade and it was absolutely freezing!!!

CeCe, Me & George ... celebrating the joy of our Risen Lord together!

After this service, we had a little snooze before going for a late brunch and then attending the family service at 11.00am. After lunch, I spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying time over dinner and hanging out with friends and tomorrow is also a day of rest and relaxation for everyone with a big celebration party in the evening!

Hallelujah ... Jesus Christ is our Risen Saviour!!

Free As A Bird : 9 Feb 08

2008-02-09T12:00:00.007+11:00

The common Seagull ... can be so beautiful sometimes ... walking along the Pier in Kiel, Germany, I spotted a Seagull taking a bath ... what a treat to be able to capture God's creation in motion! My recommendation is that you click on the photos to get their full impact!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26)

Noosh & CeCe : Best of Friends & Fun Times Together!!

2007-12-26T07:55:00.001+11:00

I'm so grateful that my best friend on board is the Hair Stylist ... Celina from Holland ... she's such a gem and we've had so much fun together in these past few months ... and much more fun is yet to come ... here are some photos of our fun times together!!!

Singing in the Christmas Choir together on the streets of Kiel ...

Special Hair Style for Christmas Eve Dinner ... CeCe's artwork!!

Singing in the Christmas Carol service on board LH

My halo never shined this bright!!!

One of our favourite past times is having a cup of hot tea in the Dining Room ...

Lorraine (Zimbabwe) and Brent (Trinidad & Tobago)

Logos Hope Welcome Event ... sticking the last banner in place before the LH arrived!

Christmas Eve Celebration Dinner : 24 Dec 07

2007-12-26T07:23:00.000+11:00

What a wonderful reason to celebrate ... the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! We had a celebration dinner on Christmas eve ... and we had so much fun!! We sat with our Ship Families ... my "Mum & Dad" are Ben (Australia) & Becca (Germany), and my sister is Annina (Finland)and our brother Harmjan (Holland) joined us later as he was on watch in the Engine Room.

Annina & Me

Ben, Becca, Annina & Me

Me & CeCe (Holland)

Norma (Mexico), Celina (Holland), Me & Neri (Spain)

Tobi (Germany), Me and Micha (Switzerland)

Harmjan (Holland), Phips (Germany) & Ben (Australia)

Tobi (Germany), Me, Georg (Germany), Cece (Holland) & Micha (Switzerland)

Georg, Micha, Tobi & Walter (Germany)

Logos Hope Arrives In Kiel : Monday, 26 Nov 07

2007-12-03T08:43:00.000+11:00

Amid much fanfare and celebration, the Logos Hope sailed into Kiel on a beautiful sunny, but chilly day!! With nearly 250 people cheering, waving national flags and dancing to music with over 2,000 balloons decorating the quayside, two communities came together as one ...

El Capitano was on hand too ...

A-Team Hamburg : 14-19 October 2007

2007-11-03T21:57:00.000+11:00

On Sunday, 14 October, 6 of us left for Hamburg to participate in an A-Team (Action Team). The purpose of our A-Team was to assist in an evangelistic outreach to university students at Hamburg University. We distributed nearly 2,450 flyers inviting students to attend a seminar on how to have successful studies and also spent time chatting with students about life, their beliefs and everything else. It was a really challenging time as most people are not too keen to get into deep conversations with complete strangers who don't even speak their language. On Tuesday, 2 others from the ship joined us. We performed drama skits, introduced ourselves at a dinner gettogether and also at a combined meeting of all the Christians working on campus and I gave my missions testimony with the assistance of a German translator. We also did a walking tour of the city which was lovely and our tour guides were great fun. We are very excited now because about 10 of the team from Hamburg will be coming to visit the ship next Saturday so we have formed really good friendships with them all and look forward to encouraging them to continue being bold in sharing their faith and reaching the students on campus for Christ. Here are some of the memories from the time we had in Hamburg ...

The first team to leave - Lisa (Leader), Brent, Misha, Entela, Sigrid and Me

Boarding the train to Hamburg ...

On the train to Hamburg ...

Going to the university at 6.20am

Getting instructions on what to do ...

Misha and I chatting with a student

Some of Hamburg's beautiful sites ...

Fun, Fun, Fun ...

Akuna Roo : Ai Ai Captain!

2007-10-14T21:42:00.000+10:00

Vanoosh is on an A-Team in Hamburg for the week which is very exciting for her. She left on Sunday, 14 October and will be gone till Friday, 19 October participating in an evangelistic outreach for university students. It is an amazing opportunity for her to meet more locals, polish up her German speaking skills and to share God's love with young people so pray that God will work in and through her.

Of course, in her absence, I (Akuna-Roo) decided to settle in even further to my new home, and since the ship is sailing out of Kiel for a day and back in to our new berth, I had a word in the Captain's ear and he agreed to let me steer the ship out of port ... it is a big privilege and honour and once I had set our course, then I was a watchman on deck for a few hours to ensure that we didn't head towards Denmark or hit any other objects (buildings, icebergs, ships etc.) along the way ...

I take my duty very seriously ... just watch and see ... I checked the map of Kiel that is in our kiosk area to make sure I knew where we were going ...

Then I steered the ship out of the port ...

And stood on watch to see that we didn't hit any major buildings ... or other foreign objects along the way ...

Home Sweet Home : Logos II in Kiel

2007-10-14T20:54:00.001+10:00

I thought it would be good to give an indication of where the Logos II is located in the harbour of Kiel. We are, at present, almost at the point of the harbour, very close to the main shopping centre and right near the Customs House (see the building to the left of the ship). We are surrounded by 2 huge car ferry terminals - one which is on the same side of the dock as us which takes people to Sweden and the other, Colour Lines which takes people to Norway. There are 2 Swedish ferries which run every day and the Norway route goes about every 2-3 days. There is also a smaller little harbour near us which houses some old yachts and sail boats and makes the harbour look very pretty. We also have some nice views of the city from the outer decks.

There is a long promenade walk and cycle pathway which goes all the way up the quayside for kilometres and kilometres ... right up to the Kiel Canal and has lots of rowing clubs along the edge. Rowing is a big sport here and we often see singles, doubles, 4 man and 8 man teams rowing up the harbour every day.

On Monday, 15 October, the ship will be sailing out of port into international waters and then returning to the Ostseekai which is a double berth further up the harbour. This is so that the Logos Hope can berth alongside us in mid-November if all goes according to plan. Anyway, here are some photos of the ship, the harbour and also some of the people that I'm sharing life with here in Kiel.

Logos II at it's current berth in Kiel

Old Ships and Yachts - the Logos II is located on the right hand side of this picture - you can just see the Customs House building in the top right hand corner. We cross the little bridge to the other side.

City views from the outer deck ... the old ships and yachts are on the left hand side of this photo next to the tall building

Looking up one of the main streets that leads to a long shopping street, a bit like the Manly Corso but much longer than the Corso with lots and lots of different shops.

Cleaning Angels ... Nadia, Celina and Pabla

Me & Nadia

Aino, Hwa-Jin & Jessica

Sara, Dawn and our Team Leader, Christine

Erika and Jin-Suk

News from Kiel, North Germany

2007-09-28T22:54:00.000+10:00

While still in our PST, we had no access to internet so we were forced to utilise good ol' snail mail ...

We left Cuxhaven at 6.00am in the morning ... I was up early for work so captured some photos of our departure ... the Logos II's final voyage ...

We arrived in Kiel on Wednesday, 19 September 2007 having sailed for 12 hours through the Kiel Canal or as it is known in German, the Nord Ostsee Canal - a very long canal (98km) which takes ships from the North Sea through Germany to the Baltic Sea. The North Sea is known as an epeiric sea of the North Atlantic Ocean which means that it is a large body of sea covering over part of a continental shelf. By sailing through this canal, ships save themselves an average of 519km of journey time getting from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. If they do not use the canal, they have to travel up over the top of Denmark to reach the Baltic Sea (Info researched from Wikipedia after John pointed out some amendments to my previous facts - thanks!)

We have now been in port for just over a week and have a fantastic spot right near the centre of the city. We have all started our work and I am working as an "Accommodation Angel" which is actually a lot of fun. Currently, we have no internet access on the ship so I am writing this from a local internet cafe.

I am really enjoying ship life - it is a really unique and amazing experience to be sharing daily life with people from all different nations. About 50 people left the ship to go down to Trogir, Croatia to assist in the completion of the Logos Hope project and we are now in the waiting phase. We are waiting for the Logos Hope to come to Kiel so that we can transfer over to it and then finish the final touches so that it can sail into ministry which is very exciting.

Saying Goodbye to our friends at 4.00am on Monday, 24th September ... very sad moment - (L-R) Georg (Germany) went to Trogir and Misha (Russia) and I stayed behind here in Kiel!

The weather in Kiel has turned really cold and wet in the last few days and so we are bracing ourselves for a cold winter and possibly a white Christmas. We have had lots of opportunities to do ministry in the streets of Kiel, to meet with the local people, build relationships with the local churches and bring the love of Jesus to this part of North Germany.

Mirjam (Switzerland) and I at the Eis-Cafe for our PST Farewell party!

Love to all of you ... wherever you may be in the world!

On Board : MV Logos II

2007-09-19T02:21:00.001+10:00

Well it has been a while since I was able to update my BLOG and I will be sending out my next newsletter in the next week or so. I am now on board the MV Logos II after 2 weeks of pre-ship training (PST) with about 55 other people in North Germany. We have had a fantastic time getting to know one another and learning heaps about ourselves and the ship ministry and getting prepared for ship life.

One of the most eventful days was practising our life safety in a sea pool in Cuxhaven which was supposed to be heated but was a chilly 15 degrees ... it was a true life experience of what could happen and the seriousness was not lost on me.

After nearly 2 hours in the freezing water, hypothermia set in and I was convulsing (Massive, whole body shivers) from the cold ... just floating around in my life jacket and learning how to use my clothes as life jackets in the event that I fall in the water without my life jacket on. We also had to practice righting an overturned life raft and then climbing into it but by the time this exercise came around to my turn, I couldn't feel my hands and feet so getting into the liferaft became somewhat difficult! I was actually not so bad but a few people from our group suffered really badly and had to receive medical attention so it was not a game or fun at all!!! Anyway, it was all part of the ship experience. We are now on board and I worked my first full day today as an Accommodation Angel - it was fun and not as bad as I had expected! Tomorrow we are sailing up to Kiel in North Germany which will be about a 12 hour journey through a man made channel that runs through Germany near Denmark. We have water restrictions on board so no showers or toilet use during particular hours which will be interesting!

I have been incredibly blessed to be given my own little cabin which is fantastic! It means that I have my own little space to decorate and call home for the next month or so whilst we wait for the Logos Hope project work to be completed in Croatia. The Logos Hope will then sail up to Kiel to join us and we will transfer over to and assist in completion of the outfit so we will be based in Kiel for approximately 4-6 months.

I've been having a fun time getting to know people from all over the world and have made good friends with people from my PST Cuxhaven training. PST Cuxhaven is our code name and every time we hear it, we all hoot and whistle, clap and scream ... it's quite funny sometimes but it is a real bonding experience and they are like our family on board. But then we also have a ship family and a Big Sister who shows us around and helps us with the location of various things and routines etc. It is so well organised and I love the community atmosphere. We've also had excellent teachings in our devotion times from Godly men filled with spiritual wisdom and knowledge which has been so challenging and I'm just drinking it all in.

I've been doing as much walking around the little city of Cuxhaven as possible and I'm hoping that I will not suffer sea sickness - I felt a little queasy this morning while working ... and I've got my pressure bands on each arm so I hope things will settle down.

PST Fun ...

2007-09-13T12:00:00.000+10:00

Some fun photos from our PST ... what a blast!!

Celina (Holland) working her magic on Toby (Germany) in the hair department!!

Each week, we had a prayer night for different countries ... this night, we prayed for Mexico, Switzerland and the island of Antiqua.

We had to learn a drama called "The Fence" ... this was my team ... it great fun! (L-R) Micha (Switzerland), Toby (Germany), Svenja (Germany), Me and Matthijs (Holland)

We often went for long walks in the countryside ... we could also walk to the sea - here Mirjam with Jael (Switzerland), Georg (Germany), Marsha (Holland) and I enjoyed the outdoors together.

OM Global Conference : Next Steps

2007-08-29T22:09:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, we will be leaving here and going up to Germany to do pre-ship training for 2 weeks. I have no idea where we are staying or what facilities are available so if you don't hear from me for a while, this will be the reason. I hope to send my newsletter to everyone on Friday so look out for that.

The teaching here has been so challenging and has really impacted the way I think about what I'm doing ... I will try to convey some of what I have learnt in my newsletter so that you might all be encouraged to consider where you are at in your lives.

GO Conference : The Netherlands

2007-08-27T06:37:00.000+10:00

Akuna-Roo took pride of place on the Australia Exhibit and he's been welcomed by people of all nations!

South Koreans!

The Spanish!

George Verwer attended the Conference and had an amazing message - he is the founder and is very empowering and inspiring!

Today was a day of rest for the most part and I took a walk with Kelli and Rachel to the little town further up the road along the country paths ... here are some more photos of the beautiful countryside ...

ps. Whenever you can't see a photo it means that the internet connection here is very slow and downloading photos is difficult ...

GO Conference : The Netherlands

2007-08-25T22:00:00.000+10:00

Well after all the fun and games, I thought it would be good to show you a little bit of the beautiful countryside that we are surrounded by ... it's so peaceful and tranquil here ... we are on the edge of a canal way and everything is so lush and green ...

I am sharing a room with 3 other girls - Kelli (USA), Vennis (Hong Kong, China) and Etsuko (Japan). Vennis and I are in the loft room as it is a split-level room and we have our own bathroom ... it is very spacious and comfortable - we are all sleeping really well! I've been very clumsy in the mornings though ... nearly broke my big left toe coming down the stairs one morning when I missed the bottom step ... then had to scream in silence from the pain! Thankfully, it was not broken ... just bruised.

Last night, we had a fanastic ventriliquist who gave a talk on "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and I turned out to have a temperament of "Motivator" ... the whole evening of identifying our temperaments was spot on and provided many laughs for us all!!

Afterwards, we all sat around a camp fire and listened to stories from people who have been working for over 20 years or more ... it was absolutely inspiring and so encouraging to hear how so many different situations and countries are being impacted and individual lives are being changed regardless of being thrown in jail, eating tomato sauce as soup, messages in bottles and so much more ...

Global Orientation Conference : The Netherlands

2007-08-24T22:17:00.001+10:00

On Tuesday, 21 August 2007, I arrived in The Netherlands and was transported from the airport via a minibus along with 2 Canadians and a Swedish family to the Conference centre.

So far, I can say that my experience here has been fantastic - it is wonderful to be a part of the global family and to be able to meet so many people from all over the world - 30 different nations are represented and approximately 300 people are here. We are receiving fantastic teaching and training for what is ahead of each of us in all corners of the globe! It is incredible to see how everyone's life is so unique and each person's experience is encouraging and uplifting. We also meet in smaller Groups and Discovery Groups which have been brilliant fun!

On our first full day, we had to participate in 16 games which I have termed "Looney Olympics" - we played "peanut tennis", hung from a tree holding onto a pair of blue denim jeans, carrot producing, nail hammering, dunking our head in a bowl of water fishing for sweets ... then dunking our head in a bowl of flour fishing for sweets - you can imagine the sight of our dough covered faces ... it was hilarious!!

Unfortunately, I have no photos as it was a "get to know you" icebreaker and I left my camera in my room - very unlike me I know! But I have got some photos from other fun events that we have had since then.

Flour Mime

Last night we had more flour and water for a mime competition ... and we played a trivia game.

I am excited about being here ... having a lot of fun and wish you could all be here with me as it is so much fun!!

A Walk down Memory Lane

2007-08-08T13:00:00.000+10:00

Today I walked the streets of London soaking in the sights once more and pinching myself every now and then to check that I really am back in good ol' London town!

I started at Piccadilly Circus and strolled to Leicester Square, then down to Trafalgar Square.

Then I walked through Admiralty Arch and up part of the golden mile before turning back and walking down Whitehall past No. 10 Downing Street and Horseguards Parade towards my favourite friend, Big Ben. Then past the Parliament Houses and Westminster Abbey and all the way up Victoria Street. I found myself smiling as little things reminded me of times and people gone by ... things I had forgotten about yet seeing the name or the place again, it all came flooding back!

Whilst walking down Victoria Street, I cut through Strutton Ground which is the little lane way that I used to spend most of my lunch breaks at when I worked for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Horseferry Road, Victoria. I decided that I would surprise my old boss Lesley with a pop-in visit and we had a lovely catch up over a good cup of tea! I was grateful to rest my weary limbs by this time too! Following that, I walked to Buckingham Palace and across Green Park where I hopped on the tube during peak hour (stupid!) and stopped in Earls Court.

The one thing that has changed is the number of people in London! There are people everywhere and you have to play a constant game of "dodgem cars" and be quite nimble on your feet to avoid the elbow bashing and shoving that goes on, particularly in high density people congestion spots!! I have to say that it was quite overwhelming at times and I was very happy to know that I don't have to fight through the people traffic every day like I used to do on the tubes and the streets. However, I really think that there are definitely more people living here than there were 14 years ago!

Being in Earls Court was, of course, a real walk down memory lane ... going back to "Kenway Road" and seeing the little street, the Kings Head pub and the shops in the area where we all lived together!! I had to laugh that the front doors to our units were still painted in a black frame with a big yellow door ... some things just never change and our landlady, who owns about 10 of these units side by side, has obviously not changed either?!

After grabbing a bite, I headed back home and felt really good about having covered so much ground in my walk down memory lane ...

Unfortunately, my photos keep crashing so I have not had a chance to upload them yet but watch this space!

Introducing "AkunaRoo"

2007-08-07T14:00:00.000+10:00

I would like to introduce you to my new "inflatable, loyal marsupial roo" which is how he was introduced to me!

I would also like to tell you that his name is "AkunaRoo"!!

"Akuna" is an Aboriginal name which means "to trust and to follow". I decided this was the most appropriate name for him since I am trusting in God and he will be following me around the world!!

My beautiful friend Mia and her family have blessed me with this travelling companion of the most fun kind and one that will ensure that I am always in touch with Australia. In addition, I have no doubt that AkunaRoo will bring much delight and entertainment to all who meet him along the way.

His first adventure was to see the world from Maggie & Mark's window as we embarked on our London tour together. The amazing thing about AkunaRoo is that he is very intelligent and has already asked for a spot on the Noosh News monthly update so look out for the "Akuna Roo-View" in time to come!

AkunaRoo's Room with a View

A

St Matts Reunion in London

2007-08-06T18:30:00.000+10:00

I arrived in London this morning (Monday, 6 Aug) and spent the day getting my bearings - went to Hammersmith for lunch with Maggie and to get some of the bare necessities in terms of toiletries etc. At 6.30pm, we went down to "The Crabtree" pub on the banks of the river to have a St Matts reunion in London! We first met up with Christelle who is on holiday here for 3 months visiting her sister. It was so fantastic to see everyone again ... we were then joined by Eleanor, Fenella, Bev (a friend of Eleanor's) who only stayed a few minutes, Thomo and Mark.

We had a really fun night chatting about St Matts and catching up on Manly news. I can't tell you how good it was to see everyone from home again! We had dinner together and then, Mark D also joined us as we were leaving ...

And just like the good ol' days in Manly, we walked home along the London streets singing "I can't live without you" before going our separate ways again ...

Sunday, 5 August 2007 : Angels & Miracles

2007-08-05T19:15:00.000+10:00

On my flight from Joburg to Frankfurt, I was privileged to have only one man in the row with me and since I was on the window, we had a spare seat between us and therefore we only had each other as company.

However, this man was no ordinary man ... his name was Johan, a brother in Christ and an amazing man of God and he was like an Angel to me! His testimony of how God touched his life and is in the process of healing him from cancer was nothing short of miraculous. He told me how a stranger walked up to him one day whilst he was in between doctor's appointments, introduced himself as "Michael" and told him the following:

"Hi, my name is Michael and I want you to know that I have never done this before. I apologise but I overheard some of your conversation and while you were talking, the Lord told me to turn around, go over to that man and tell him that he is cured! God Bless You!"

At the time, Johan had been on the phone to his mum telling her that things were not looking good and that the cancer was deteriorating. What was even more amazing was that when Johan went to find this man named Michael, he was no where to be seen or found. Johan's mum believes he was an Angel and Johan has never seen him since.

What is even more miraculous and amazing is that following that day, Johan's blood count has continued to decrease at every check up and his doctor's believe it is miraculous that he is now in complete remission. His testimony was so uplifting and inspiring and really encouraged me that God is the God of all healing and that he knows our life intimately and meets us at our point of need and that he can use complete strangers or perhaps angels to touch our lives.

I am reminded of Hebrews 13:2 - "Don't forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

Praise God - He is the God of Wonders, Miracles, Healing and Angels sent from Heaven Above!

Noosh News : July 2007

2007-07-31T12:00:00.000+10:00

Howzit from Durbz By the Sea!

I hope that you are well and enjoying life to the fullest measure. I trust that God has been working in your life and that your faith in Him is sure and certain.

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1"

I watched a fantastic movie called "Faith Like Potatoes" about a farmer named Angus Buchan and his family. His life was radically changed as God performed miracles through tragedy and the natural elements to show him that we need faith like potatoes - watch it and be inspired as you see God's hand at work!

I have so enjoyed being back in my old home town, Durban for the opportunity to rest and relax after my hectic departure from Sydney. I have had such fun reconnecting with my family and friends. I deduced that the history we establish with one another impacts the depth of our relationships forever but it is the connectedness that we continue to nurture that makes certain that the relationship endures over time and distance. I always love the fact that I can return to South Africa approximately every 2 years and without fail, there are people here who make me feel like I've never been away. There is a sense of knowing, trust, acceptance, and comfort in these relationships and friendships and they are very special. I am aware that people change, move on and continue moving forward as is to be expected … and I have no doubt that I continue to do the same, however fundamentally, at the heart of it, I know I can depend on these friendships - they have endured and persevered despite everything.

Throughout my life, I have endeavoured to stay connected with people that I have met because every person I have ever met has impacted my life in ways they may never know. Unfortunately, often the communication lines get blurred or faint and are sometime cut completely. But when the friendship is worth it, the reconnection is sweeter than ever. While I have been here, I have experienced this - I have been able to reconnect with a special friend who I lived with in London. We had not had any contact for nearly 5 years but I can't tell you how good it was to chat to her again and reminiscing over times gone by was so great. We have shared things in our lives that no one else can share or take away from us and I realised how much I have missed hearing the laughter in her voice and picturing her beautiful face.

It got me to thinking why I feel that staying connected is so important to me and I was struck by the thought that sometimes the connection between me and God feels like it has been cut off for one reason or another or it has become a one way street. Inevitably, I know that I feel like this when I have not maintained good communication with God in prayer and I start to feel like I'm wandering around in a desert of uncertainty and doubts, low self-esteem and concerns creep in so easily. Yet I am also acutely aware that God continues to keep the channel of communication open for me to make use of and every time I reconnect with Him, it is a sweet reunion because it means that our friendship gets deeper as I share my fears, my tears, my joys and my life with Him.

I was also struck by the memory that when I first arrived in Australia, my biggest stumbling block to connecting with people was that I did not have a history with them. However, through time and shared experiences, I built a deep and meaningful history with many people and I trust that these connections have created a stable, dependable certainty and a comforting knowledge that no matter how far apart we are, or how little we see each other, I will always feel like I never really left when I reconnect again.

Love is the relational glue that binds us to each other and keeps relationships strong and prayer is the spiritual glue that binds us to God and allows Him to keep us strong. God remains available to us no matter how silent we have been towards Him or when it was, that we last connected with Him. I believe that He faithfully provides a deep friendship that reminds me how important I am to Him. He longs to hear from me and to be part of my life in the everyday things, not just the big events or when I think I need Him. Relationship means "relating" - a two way street always provides a return option, however one way traffic only goes in one direction!

Family Fun

Getting to know my niece Nicola who is nearly 18 months old has been so wonderful - she is trying so hard to talk and babbles away until we get what she wants. The cutest thing about her is when you ask her to tell you what various animals say - my favourite is her rendition of what a "Hadedaa" bird says which translates into - "Ah-Haa" … it's too funny! My nephew Guy is growing fast and is also a gorgeous child and we've also had much fun together undertaking all sorts of activities.

Nikky holding on to her favourite balloon for dear life!

We went to see "The Jungle Book" play and uShaka Marine World where we were treated to fantastic dolphin and seal performances. Spending time with my folks, my brother Murray, my sister-in-law Karrie and my uncle Keith has been really great too. We've had lots of great discussions and a lot of laughs. We also celebrated my mum and my uncle's 60th birthdays which was terrific fun and provided fits of laughter around age related mischief and growing old gracefully!

The Big "Hunt" at Hluhluwe Game Reserve

My folks and I spent 3 days in the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserve hunting for the big cats who, disappointingly, remained elusive. However, we had some brilliant encounters of the close and personal kind with lots of other wild creatures including elephants, rhino, hyaena, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, lots of buck in Umfolozi and phenomenal birds of prey. The highlight was our encounter with a baby hyaena and it's mother - it was just like a fluffy puppy bounding with much bravado whilst testing boundaries. We also saw baby versions of rhino, elephant, giraffe, crocodile and baboons. We embarked on a night drive on our first night and initially did not see anything for about 1.5 hours as the spotlight on our vehicle was faulty. Thankfully, the guide arranged 2 new spot lights and we were given an extra half hour tour during which we saw all kinds of animals including hearing a lion kill just beyond our view. We could hear them feeding and could also see four hyaenas at close range just lying in wait to finish off the scraps.
Being in the wilds of Africa again was spectacular - the stars seemed so much brighter and the milky-way was clearly streaked across the sky like a wispy night cloud. I marveled in awe at God's magnificent creation of creatures great and small and the "fingerprints of God" in every animal, bird and plant were clear to see - each so unique and beautiful and completely designed by an amazing Creator. The fact that animals each have their own unique set of stripes and patterns always amazes me - uniquely and perfectly designed! I hope the photos have remained together - apologies if they are all over the page. I have the new Windows XP 2007 and I could not group my photos, much to my frustration - any suggestions from computer whizz kids would be welcome for future newsletters!

Next Steps

I fly out of South Africa in a week's time on Sunday, 5 August for the next leg of my journey - one step closer to the ship. I arrive in London on Monday, 6 August where I will be staying for 2 weeks. On Tuesday, 21 August, I fly to Amsterdam and head north to Dalfsen for the OM Global Conference for 2 weeks - final leg to the ship.

Ship News

As far as I know, the ship has not sailed to Germany yet as they are waiting on crew and testing to be completed. I can’t believe that I’m getting so close to actually seeing the ship in real life instead of via photos and websites. It is very exciting to anticipate what is ahead and to be open to whatever God has prepared for me. I now have Skype on my new computer so look forward to chatting!

Doulos to Visit Australia - 2008: The Doulos is going to be visiting every major port city in Australia in 2008 for the last time ever. I highly recommend that you take this opportunity to board the ship, see what the OM Ship ministry is all about and catch a glimpse into what I am doing on the Logos Hope. Check the OM Australia or OM Ship web sites for more info. www.om.org.au or www.omships.org

Other News

I have been saddened and quite shocked by the number of close friends and people close to our family who have been touched and impacted by the crime and violence in South Africa. Most people I have spoken to seem quite disillusioned and are fast losing hope in the future of this beautiful and amazing country - much prayer is needed.

Praise & Prayer Focus

Thank you for taking time to connect with God on my behalf in prayer. Amen to all these praise and prayer points.

* Praise God for the opportunity I have had to relax, refresh and rejuvenate my body, mind and soul

* Praise God for relationships and friendships that make us feel at home no matter how far apart we are - may they always be this way

* Praise God for all the opportunities I have had to share my faith and journey with family and friends in SA

* Pray that the next step will go smoothly in travel and safety so that I will reach my destinations without hassle

* Pray for peace and an end to the crime and violence that plagues so many people of all colours in South Africa

* Pray that God will provide the necessary personnel and resources for the Logos Hope to get to Germany

* Pray that I will continue to know God's wisdom, power, love and comfort in living out His will as I struggle with missing Sydney and leaving my family in SA

Food For The Soul

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6)"

What a challenge to walk and live as Jesus did, however, thankfully, God does not expect us to walk perfectly because He knows we never will. But He does expect us to walk in dependence on His perfection. I keep reminding myself that I don't have to be perfect, I just have to keep focused on Jesus who is the Author and Perfector of my faith because in Him, I find my true identity!

uShaka Marine World : Thursday, 12 July 2007

2007-07-14T00:24:00.000+10:00

Today, my folks and I took Guy to the theme park in Durban called "uShaka Marine World" and we watched a spectacular dolphin and seal show. One of the oldest dolphins - Gambit was around when I was a kid and I was amazed to see that he is still alive and performing beautifully considering his age!! He is one of the largest dolphins I've ever seen!

After the shows, we walked around the aquarium which is located in the basement of an old ship so you really do feel like you are under the ocean - there were some amazing fish in there and Guy loved it!

The Durban beachfront looks pretty appealing on a beautiful day ...

Family Reunion : Sunday, 8 July 2007

2007-07-08T12:30:00.000+10:00

I arrived in Durban, South Africa on Tuesday, 3 July 2007. The last time I saw my folks was in October 2005 and my nephew Guy was just 2 years old. Now, Guy is nearly 4 years old and I met my baby niece, Nicola in person for the first time - she is 18 months old and just so cute! She is trying so hard to talk and much to her frustration, we can't quite understand what she is trying to say half the time but it's so sweet to listen to her. When you ask her to repeat a word, you can practically see the cogs of the brain turning as she thinks about how to articulate the word, and then if it's too hard, she just shouts "Daaaaah!" and giggles which makes us all laugh ... adorable! I'm having so much fun with them and on our first day together, we baked biscuits, we painted, we drew pictures, played in the garden and read books and we watched Noddy! Family really is special in their own unique ways and I am thankful to God that I have once again been able to spend quality time with my Mum, Dad, Brother - Mur, Sister-in-law, Karrie and our beautiful babies - Guy & Nicola.

We went for Sunday lunch to a restaurant called "Waterberry" in Balito and the kids loved playing on the jungle gym outside. Guy had had his face painted like Spiderman so he took on this persona on the ropes!!

Howzit South Africa! : Monday, 2 July 2007

2007-07-02T19:45:00.000+10:00

Howzit ... what's happenin?

Landing back in South Africa after nearly two years away was again quite surreal for me but it was lovely to see my dear friend Gail who has been an old and close friend from school for many, many years! I stayed with her and her husband Jon and we went out to dinner to a gorgeous restaurant called "Batouk" with my cousins Alison and Juliet and her husband Owen, and two other very dear friends, Pips and Kirsten who I camper vanned around Europe with in 1995!

It was a lovely evening and so great to catch up on everyone's news again ...

Gail & Jon

Owen, Juliet & Alison

Kirst & Pips

Good Bye Sydney : 1 July 2007

2007-07-01T21:00:00.000+10:00

Tonight was my last night in Sydney and I spent it at St Matts with all of my favourite people. After church, a bunch of us went to The Last Train to Bombay which is my favourite restaurant in Manly and we had a final "last supper" together which was really lovely! Here are some memories from the night ...

Andy & Jim

Alison & Andy

Martin & Caroline

Mark & Karen

Bevan, Jono & Raph

Emma & Bevan

Amanda & Steph

The bunch of us together ...

Noosh News : June 2007

2007-06-30T12:00:00.000+10:00

Farewell Sydney!!

It is with great sadness that I write this final farewell newsletter to Sydney … I began this letter while I was still in Sydney but unfortunately, time got away from me and with only 2 more sleeps to go at the time, I had to pack up my computer and acknowledge the fact that my departure was tangible and the journey ahead was imminently close. As a result, I am now completing this newsletter from the comfort of my parent's home in South Africa at 6.00am thanks to jetlag!

Gosh, I don't know where to begin … I give ALL glory to God for the work that He has done in my life since April 2006 when I realized that it was time to really set foot into the world in obedience to His calling. I give God Thanks and Praise for His faithfulness in showing me that He is in complete control of my life and that "with God, ALL things are possible." (Matthew 19:26). For those that know me well, my two greatest fears about being a missionary were my financial and personal security. Yet, each of these fears have been completely dealt with … smashed into tiny pieces so that they no longer present any barrier for my journey to the world! Without the support - financial, prayerful, and practical - from so many wonderful friends, I would not have dared imagine I could embark on such a journey. I would like to thank and acknowledge each and every one of you who have contributed in various ways. You have assisted me to take this life changing step as a result of your generosity and kindness. I will uphold you in my prayers and continue to give thanks to God every time I remember you and I will pray that I will not take your support, love and commitment for granted.

I have been on a massive rollercoaster of emotions in these past few weeks … happiness and excitement about what the future holds, and then a deep sadness and heartache at the thought of leaving so many beautiful friends behind in my beloved Sydney. I am comforted to know that I take with me so many happy memories of times gone by. I know that we have lived life together in all it's real and authentic rawness and I've grown so much as a person and in my faith through your encouragement and guidance. We've cried tears of sadness, tears of joy and we've shared many laughs until we ached. We've been there for one another in the good times and the bad and I consider it a privilege to call Australia home and I am excited to know that I will return one of these fine days …

Ahoy Me Hearties

My farewell party was an absolute blast of fun! Everyone got into the Pirate spirit and Ricky's dance music ensured that plenty of heels were kicked up and "plank walking" was undertaken as the good ship "Calabria" hosted us to a farewell "Bon Voyage" to remember. There were many great moments captured in some superb photos which have been posted to my BLOG for future reminiscing.

Packing & Moving

My packing and moving seemed endless and I think I've had the "long pack goodbye" … my room looked like a bomb site of boxes and piles of stuff which were in decision mode - do I pack, do I chuck, do I store or do I sell? This move was not a normal one, as in moving house, where you can take the stuff you are not sure about and decide what to do with it once you get to your destination. Everything that I possessed had to have a definitive decision made on it and I found this to be particularly draining. However, I can say that my furniture move went successfully and I am ever so grateful to all those generous friends who have taken on the role of "box sitting" all my gear.

Next Steps

I flew out of Sydney on Monday, 2 July 2007 at 10.00am on my way to South Africa. I arrived in Johannesberg to the welcome arms of a beautiful old school friend, Gail. With her husband Jon, we went out to a gorgeous restaurant called "Batouk" and were joined by my cousins Alison and Juliet with her husband Owen, and two other dear friends who I camper vanned around Europe with in 1995 - Kirsten and Pips. It was really great to see them all again and catch up on their news and what has been happening in their lives. Gail and I spent most of the next day in our pyjamas chatting up a storm and then had lunch at a little French Provencale style café called "Nice" before I flew down to Durban. My folks greeted me at the airport and it was fantastic to see them again - on our way home though, a rock was either thrown at our car or bounced off a big truck and smashed a big chip into the front left windscreen which gave us all a big fright … WELCOME to Africa I suppose?!

Anyway, I was so excited about seeing my family and friends here in SA as it has been nearly 2 years since I went to Africa. I met my baby niece, Nicola for the first time today and catching up with my little nephew, Guy was a lot of fun. We baked biscuits, painted, played in the garden, played the piano, read books and did puzzles. I will be in SA for 5 weeks and will then fly to London on 5 August 2007. My folks and I have planned to visit a game reserve called "Hluhluwe" about 2 hours north of Durban in mid-July which will be brilliant as I love the wilds of Africa and it will be awesome to see elephants, giraffes, zebras and the big cats again. I am also looking forward to relaxing and rejuvenating my energy - my journey has definitely begun!

Travel Concerns

My biggest stress was excess baggage! Getting a 2 year supply of medication to Europe has proved to be challenging. My hand luggage was filled with over 3,500 tablets and I have to go through 5 sets of customs - Australia, South Africa, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. So, if ever there was something that required prayer, it is that God will pave the way for a smooth passage through these potential nightmare scenarios of being stopped at customs and grilled or charged excess luggage.

Leading up to my departure, I felt so stressed regarding what to take with me as I need clothes for all weathers and terrains. However, I also knew that the general rule about packing is to pack, then halve what you have, then halve again. At my point of maximum stress, I sent out a prayer request regarding having peace over my luggage and God stepped up and answered these prayers. In my last few days, I felt a real peace come over me as I was prompted by God to think about my calling again and I was reminded that He promised to provide for my every need. This was so comforting and so convicting that it enabled me to make the decision that instead of trying to shove everything into my suitcase till it exploded, I would not exceed the 20kgs allowance for my suitcase. Instead, I decided to trust again in my calling which confirmed that I will not want for anything - Praise God for this peace alone. And the amazing thing was, that once I had re-packed what I initially thought I needed, I put the suitcase on the scale and it clocked in at exactly 20kgs! Thankfully, I can now report that in addition to that, I sailed through the check in, customs and security checks both in Australia and South Africa without any hassles or questions being asked. Praise God, his faithfulness was again evident in my life and He does answer simple prayers!

Ship News

Above is the latest image of the ship in Croatia. A recent newsletter from the Ship indicated that it will be setting sail from Croatia to Bremerhaven in Germany in the next few weeks (end of July) for the final stage of the reburbishment which is expected to take 4-6 months. This news has confirmed that I will most likely be in Germany until December until the ship is ready to sail. Check out the website and read about how the ship survived a mini-tornado which broke it’s ropes loose from the ship mooring and nearly caused a disaster last weekend – www.logoshope.org I was fortunate enough to chat over Skype with an Aussie, Donna, a family friend of some friends of mine. Donna has been working on the Logos Hope doing project work for some months now and so it was brilliant to get a first hand idea of what I can expect. I am confident that I am going to love ship life once I have settled in.

Other News

I finished work on Tuesday, 19 June which was such a relief as I had so many things to organize before I left. My dear friend Ode arrived from Brisbane the next day and spent 4 nights with us. She was such a great support and kept me sane and focused on getting things done as my panic button was constantly being buzzed for trivial things … Where are my keys? What have I done with my phone? Where is the parking ticket? I must have asked these questions 100 times over in the 3 days that Odes was with me - driving myself dilly!

My flat mate Amanda and I managed to get away to the Blue Mountains staying one night at the Hydro Majestic which is a magnificent old hotel in Medlow Bath with sweeping views of the Megalong Valley. We had a room with a view however, it was absolutely freeeeeeeezing!!! We had dinner at the local pub in Blackheath and had such fun with the locals joining in a sing-a-long with the local piano player! What a hoot it was and how lovely it was for the two of us to spend some quality time together before I left, reminiscing about life and all the fun times we have had together as flat mates in the last 5 years.

My last night in Sydney was spent at St Matts which was sad but lovely. After church, a bunch of us went to "The Last Train to Bombay" - my favourite Indian restaurant. I felt so sad to leave everyone behind … I tried not to cry too many tears otherwise I would have spent the whole night in floods and although I am sad to say Goodbye, I know that this is God's will for my life and that he has purposed me to go out into the world, because I have had this desire in my heart for many years.

Finance Update

I have been incredibly blessed in seeing God's mighty hand at work in providing financial support through so many wonderfully generous gifts and commitments. Thank you again for all your support which has made this journey possible.

Praise & Prayer Focus

Thank you for taking time to intercede on my behalf in prayer to God.

* Praise God for His peace about my luggage and smooth travel transitions through Australia and South Africa
* Praise God for His faithfulness in raising up supporters who are contributing generously in finances and prayer
* Pray that God will enable me to rest, relax and refresh my mind and emotions following departure from Sydney
* Pray for safety whilst in South Africa
* Pray that God will continue to work in refining my character as I prepare for ship life
* Pray for a time of fun and relaxation with my family and friends in SA and the UK

Food For The Soul

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." (Phil 3:7-8)

I have lost much in leaving Sydney but I know that I will gain much from obeying God. Australian friends, I will miss you all more than words can describe and I will uphold you in my prayers and thoughts always. I long for the day when we will be together once more … so until we meet again … God's richest blessings in Christ to you … Vanoosh :o)

Pirates & Pioneers : Bon Voyage Party : Saturday, 23 June 2007

2007-06-23T19:30:00.000+10:00

Ahoy Me Hearties ... it's Sails Up, Up and Away ... Captain Noosh is about to pull up anchor and sail off into waters unknown ...

Tonight we partyed up a storm aboard the Good Ship Calabria which set sail with many faithful and dear passengers on board! I can't believe that my farewell party has already come and gone ... it was a great night, a lot of fun with heaps of dancing and good times for all the Pirates & Pioneers who braved the turbulent waters and bravely walked the plank ...

Drama on the High Seas : Monday, 18 June 2007

2007-06-18T12:00:00.000+10:00

Well who could believe I would be involved in a rescue drama on the high seas in the middle of Sydney harbour TODAY!! I bet you all could, knowing me but for anyone who knows me really well ... I thrive on rescue dramas ... this made my day!

Today, I went into the city for a meeting and caught a Jet Cat home which replaced the ferry. Anyway, it was rainy and freezing cold but I had to be outside!! The Jet Cat slowed down towards the harbour entrance and as you may or may not know we've been having some terribly WILD weather recently in Sydney and the waves were pretty big coming through the Harbour Heads. Anyway, I was sitting at the top on the outer deck as per usual and the Jet Cat operators suddenly starting running around and shouting at each other and I heard someone say "Which side is he on?" ... so I said to the guy next to me ... "Something's up ... this is not normal!" ... then we see a Manly ferry stopped not far off and everyone from their captain's quarters is standing in a huddle staring at something and I initially thought that someone had jumped off the ferry!?

Anyway, we look over to the side and there in the water, bobbing up and down is a tinnie (a little boat) in a vertical position half submerged with a bedraggled man hanging on for dear life in his life jacket which was not securely tied to him as it was floating on the top of the water!!! When the Jet Cat got closer and stopped so we were bobbing up and down with him, he let go of the rope and tried to swim towards us but his clothes were so heavy. He really struggled to swim and you could see that his shoes were gone. The Jet Cat operators dragged him on board ... and then from no where, about 4 Commando style boats roared into the picture and were attempting to salvage the tinnie before it sank completely - there was debris floating all around and one of the boats came up to the Jet Cat and the shipwrecked man was put into some warm clothes and brought up to the upper deck and he was hanging out the window confirming that he was not a terrorist and that he was the only one on board.

When we got back to Manly wharf, there were about 15 police waiting for him ... I love it ... the Australian's never do anything half heartedly ... it was as if he was a terrorist or something ... the poor man ... what a day?! Aparently, the boat had been giving him problems and he was taking it to be fixed and as he went throught the harbour heads, a massive wave peaked over him and tipped the whole boat over before he could do anything. He lost everything but he was alive and could so easily have drowned from exhaustion or been hit on the head and knocked out as the boat got turned over!?

Later we found out that the Commando boats were actually conducting a terrorist training exercise in the harbour when the May Day call came in that there was an upturned tinnie in trouble with a man overboard, so they were responding accordingly but the Jet Cat had beat them to the punch!

I'll be getting some photos of the drama in a week or so from my fellow passenger who is going to email them to me so watch this space ... I just also thought ... gosh, I hope this is not a sign of things to come?!

Noosh News : May 07

2007-05-31T18:00:00.000+10:00

Final Count Down

With only 30 days to go before I leave Sydney, the final count down is well and truly on and I'm in the final stages of preparation for my big trip. I do believe that May has been the fastest month this year as it seems to have just flown by in a whirlwind.

God has been working in my heart to consider who I am in Him and to find contentment in Him no matter where I am or what I am doing. A few years back, I remember feeling convicted of this contentment through the confirmation of a verse three times over. Initially, I heard the verse at a seminar and I thought to myself, that is a really great verse of encouragement. A few weeks later, I heard the same verse again on the radio and again, I thought, I must remember that verse because it is so encouraging. But each time, I kept forgetting to record it or to remember it in full. Eventually, one day, having never done this before, I let my bible fall open on a page to see what God had for me and bang … there it was … that very same verse AGAIN!! It was from 1 Timothy 6:6: "But Godliness with contentment is great gain." What amazing reassurance for me now that as I seek to turn my world upside down in order to walk closer with my Great God and Father in Heaven, I can know that with contentment, I will also have great gain.

I have also been pondering how painful it is going to be to leave Sydney as I have such wonderful and heartfelt friendships here that have forged bonds of relationship deeper than I could have ever hoped for and dreamed possible. Truly I can say that I am being torn from the loving arms of my greater family unit, my family in Christ and even just writing this makes my eyes swell. I also know that this is a true testimony to how God has worked in my life. When I arrived in Australia some 11 years ago almost to the date (24 June 1996), I knew approximately 5 people here. Now I will be walking away with the happiest memories of my life, the deepest friendships which will endure the separation and time apart, and the closeness of brothers and sisters who've known each other a lifetime through good and bad, happy and sad and yet still loved and accepted without question. I thank God with the gratitude of a sinner who deserves nothing, for the blessings in abundance that he has lavishly poured out upon me here in Sydney. My cup is overflowing and overflowing still … and I am not worthy but I am thankful.

I recently read a passage from a gem of a book, which I love, called "Alone with God" by Michael Warden which reminded me to put great works in perspective.

"The great work we are all called to, is to develop a "great heart" for God. This is the greatest work for every Christian. Nothing is more important. That's right - nothing matters more to God than the condition of your heart before Him. Now I will tell you a secret. Many Christians spend the best years of their lives striving to "do great things for God." But despite their great efforts, they end up missing God entirely in the process. They do not understand that God's point in sending Christ was not so that we could do great things for Him, but so that we could know Him. God is all about relationship - that is His passion. And it should be our passion as well. So, as you seek the Lord in your life, remember this secret. Do not worry yourself with striving to "do great things for God." Instead, always make it your ambition to have a great heart for God. If you do this, you'll find that the "great works" will take care of themselves." (pg 96)

How good it is to be reminded that God is interested in the condition of our hearts and not our actions. There are hundreds of references to our heart - guard your heart, love God with all your heart, don't harden your heart, look for God and serve God with all your heart.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

All these remind me, that whatever people look at on the outside, is not nearly as important as the knowledge that God is always looking on the inside to my heart.

Bon Voyage

Ahoy Me Hearties … the Pirates are coming to town! I have coordinated my farewell party for Saturday, 23 June 07 - "Pirates & Pioneers" of the Calabria will be sailing away on a Bon Voyage to remember! All those who will be in Sydney on this night, are welcome to attend, so email me if you have not already received your invitation … a farewell not to be missed!

Ship News

I've recently received confirmation that my pre-ship training will be held in Bremerhaven in North Germany (just north of Bremen and west of Hamburg) following the Global Orientation ("GO") conference. The ship will be sailing from Croatia up to Germany for the final stages of the refurbishment and fit-out, so it is likely that I will be based in Bremerhaven for approximately 3 months from September to December before the ship sails for ministry. I am very excited about being part of the final refurbishment project as the ship enters its final preparation stage for launch.

Lots of people have asked me where the ship will sail to and at this stage, I have no idea, but you can keep a track of current news regarding the progress of the ship, via the official Logos Hope website: www.logoshope.org

Other News

I celebrated a very low key 35th birthday with close friends over a BBQ brekkie brunch on Sunday, 13 May at Shelley Beach in Manly. It was a beautiful autumn day and this was one of the first birthdays in Sydney that I have been able to have an outdoor celebration, as it was not too cold. However, the weather has definitely turned on the chill factor recently and winter is now upon us.

We also celebrated Mother's Day on the same day as my birthday and I thank God especially for my Mum who is always willing to serve and continues to support, nurture, care and love me. I think that it is so important to remember that our "Mums" may not be perfect (and neither are we), however, they were divinely appointed to each one of us. And, whilst I know many people have difficult and sometimes painful relationships with their Mother, Jesus reminded us that one of the greatest commandments is to "Honour our Father and Mother" - no one will ever be able to replace their unique positions in our lives! So I praise God for Mothers and Fathers around the world! I think he should have added, "Honour your friends" too … because friends are the family you form bonds with when your real family are far away!

Finance Update

My financial support raising has been going well and I have been so blessed by the generosity of once off gifts which have paid for my GO Conference and my travel costs to get to the ship in full, so praise be to God for this. However, currently, I am still a little short of my monthly target and need to raise approximately $340/month. If you feel God's prompting, in whatever capacity you are able to give on an ongoing basis, please email me and I will send you a "Financial Partners Support Form". Thanks again go out to the faithful financial supporters I currently have who have caught the vision of my mission and obeyed God's calling.

Prayer Warriors

I have continued to add a Prayer Point for prayerful supporters and recently, this prayer was answered in an amazing way! I received an email from my flat mate's mother whom I have never met in person. She told me that she, along with a beautiful group of faithful and righteous women who live in country NSW, are "Prayer Warriors" who regularly engage in prayer warfare (intercession) on behalf of others and they want to pray for me as I journey on the ship, especially in emergency times when prayer is the only sustainable source of redemption and protection that I will have. I was so blown away and thankful to God for raising up such amazingly faithful women to pray for me in this way and along with the prayers of many faithful friends, I feel that my life and my mission will be covered and protected by God's hand. Praise the Lord - this is amazing and so vital and encouraging. God is so good to me!

Suffer Little Children

Last weekend, I went to visit a friend of mine who has a very sick baby. This gorgeous little girl has been in hospital since she was born and is now 8 months old. She has recently undergone another stomach operation to correct her problem and when I saw her with so many tubes coming out of her, my heart went out to her. I was so blessed to be able to pray over her and to share with my friend about God's healing power. The heart-breaking thing was to suddenly be exposed and immersed into a world of so many sick babies who are being cared for. I was so touched to see their plight and to glimpse the battles that faced them, along with their desperate parents. I was convicted to uplift them to Jesus for healing. I am sure that I am going to experience many sick babies and children along the way, however, I will continue to pray for these precious sick babies right here in Sydney and for their weary parents who may not have the hope, the strength and the power of God to sustain them through their living nightmare. Please join me in praying for them. I went back to visit the little patient and she was smiling, gurgling and played with my hair as I held her, which was really encouraging but the road ahead is still long and painful.

I also want you to know that I will still remember your prayers, your needs and your lives and I want to be praying for you too so please make this a two way street and send me your prayer points in the months ahead.

Praise & Prayer Focus

Thank you for taking time to intercede on my behalf in prayer to God.

* Praise God for the generosity of many who are investing in the Kingdom of God
* Praise God for bringing faithful and righteous Prayer Warriors to intercede for me
* Praise God continually for His faithfulness in raising up supporters who are contributing generously in finances and prayer
* Pray that God will send angels to watch over all suffering children, to ease their pain and heal their broken bodies
* Pray that my stress levels will be measured and calmed through God's transcending peace
* Pray that I will able to complete all the tasks ahead as I prepare to leave Sydney
* Pray for wisdom, discernment and strength as I talk to others and share my mission

Food For The Soul

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

"Endurance is the simple, profound commitment to pursue and obey Christ's commands whatever the cost, whatever may come. Endurance takes you to the land of "no matter what" …The great battles of spiritual life are not fought on the mountaintops of spiritual revelation, but in the lowlands of monotony. The real victory of life in Christ comes when we are willing to obey even when no one is looking and obedience seems pointless." (Alone with God - pg 105)

God's richest blessings in Christ to you … Vanoosh :o)

Ben & Sarah's Wedding : 13 May 2007

2007-05-13T13:00:00.000+10:00

Ben and Sarah were married at St Matts and it was a wonderful wedding ...

Buzz ... a beautiful bridesmaid

Buzz with Flower Girl, Emily and Page Boy, Oscar

Jen ... another beautiful bridesmaid

Sarah ... a Beautiful Bride

Cathy ... a Mum to Be

Birthday, Baby Shower, Farewell, Mother's Day, Wedding ... 13 May 2007

2007-05-13T10:00:00.000+10:00

Well, I guess I have to say "Happy Birthday to Me!!"

I can't believe that it has been 5 years since I had my 30th birthday Black Tie Masquerade Ball?! Where have the years gone and what will the next 5 years bring? Today, I had a low key but lovely celebration of my 35th birthday with good friends at a BBQ Brekkie Brunch down at Shelley Beach.

I shared the day with all the mothers of the world who were celebrating Mother's Day today so there were plenty of people out and about at Manly.

I also shared in a celebration with Sarah & Ben who got married today!

I was also wishing two dear friends "Farewell" and Congratulations on the impending birth of their new baby. Maggie and Mark are leaving Oz to return to the UK this week which is very sad as we have all grown accustomed to seeing their gorgeous faces around the Manly scene! Luckily for me however, I will be staying with them in London in August so at least I am only saying "See ya later ..." and not Goodbye just yet! Here are some memories of the day's events ...

Maggie & Mark

Andy & Anna

Jo and Bel

Jono

Shelley Beach ...

Callum

Mia

Lorenzo

Nats & Clint

Stephy

Nats and Agnes

Nicole & Bernd

Agnes ... gorgeous child!!

Talita ... a doting Big Sister

Agnes & Maggie ... so cute!

Adelaide comes to Sydney!

2007-05-07T15:00:00.000+10:00

Nigel, Laura and gorgeous little Adelaide all came to visit us in Sydney and stayed a night or two which was a lot of fun ... Aunty Manda and Aunty Noosh had some fun times with lots of laughs ... putting nappies on the wrong way, struggling with stroller issues and of course buttoning up baby grow pyjamas ... all challenges we faced together ... and triumphed over together ... much to our own amusement!!

Adelaide is, of course, the apple of her Aunt Manda's eye ... and it's not surprising with such beautiful blue eyes that can melt a heart in an instant! Bruno Bear proved very popular to cuddle with... take a look...

Look who's got the remote Dad ... now I'm in control of telly?!

I'm gonna zap that black thing outta my face!

Then a very important call came in from Aunt Manda ...

Noosh News : April 07

2007-04-30T12:00:00.000+10:00

As most of you are aware, I have been sending out a monthly newsletter, however, for some email systems, they reject the newsletter and so it doesn't get through to everyone so I thought I would add a modified version (for security & condifentiality reasons) to my BLOG for those that missed it via email for whatever reason!

Dear Friend

"Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you … we become whatever we are committed to … you were put on earth to make a contribution. You weren't created just to consume resources - to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. While many best selling books offer advice on how to "get" the most out of life, that's not the reason God made you. You were created to "add" to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back." (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life)

What are you committed to? What are you giving back to life on earth? What is the purpose of life?

What is Easter really all about?

As we celebrated the death and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ at Easter, I was reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf as he suffered and hung on a cross so that we might have eternal life with God in heaven forever. I was challenged to think about the questions above in a renewed way. I'm thankful to God for the many blessings I have received in my life, the most important being that He revealed himself in such a way that I can say wholeheartedly that I am committed to being faithful to God, to becoming more Christ-like and to continually transforming my life and my character. In addition, I'm hoping that by doing God's will through mission, I will be giving back to life on earth, a tiny part of the big slice that I have already taken from it. I am also committed to taking you all around the world with me and I am so excited to know that your hands, your feet, your eyes and your ears will be with me all the way on this journey as you pray, encourage and support me.

Could it possibly be that there are exactly 9 weeks to go before I leave Sydney? Writing this newsletter, I feel the butterflies swirling around, as it reminds me how fast this past month has flown by, and how much is happening in my life! Only 63 days left … and counting!? Eeek! God is always faithful though and has continued to show me that He is very much present in this whole process by answering my prayers and allaying my fears.

Cabin Fever?!

So what will my cabin really look like?

I am constantly checking the LH website (www.LH.org - type the name of the ship in full if you know it for the actual web address) for updates on the progress of the ship refurbishments and I recently found a photo of a partially completed cabin … and I have to say that I was most pleasantly surprised. However, I have a lot of things and I am only allowed to take the 20-23kg airline limit, so my whole life is going to have to fit into one suitcase, which, is going to be one of the biggest challenges I could ever face! Once I get on board and make myself at home, I will have to send you an updated photo of what my actual room looks like!

Other News

For a few weeks this month, I have felt that I've been under a big grey cloud and it occurred to me that the Enemy is on my case BIG TIME! Praise God that I have the power of the Holy Spirit within to withstand any attack! I had an amazing experience in relation to praying through scriptures called "Lectio Divina" which really impacted me - read about it on my BLOG. The point is that God has a way of revealing himself when we least expect to find Him, and I find it comforting to know, that no matter what is going on, no matter who is judging me and no matter how much self-pity I may have or alone and self-absorbed I may feel, I know that God is always with me and will never leave me. It is my prayer that each of you has the same experience of God in your lives, because the sun is always shining above the clouds, no matter how grey they get!
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

It may not be easy but it is possible to remain faithful.

Finance Update

Two great verses from 2 Corinthians are a reminder that "what is unseen is eternal" and that we live by faith, not by sight. Therefore, I continue to praise God for raising up supporters who are committing their financial resources and fixing their eyes on what is unseen ie. the people that I will meet and the ministries that I will participate in as a result of their generosity. I will be living completely by faith so I cannot do what I am doing without your financial support and it is exciting to know that God is working in your lives too! For every child that I hug and every hand that I shake, my support partners will have played an "unseen" part in the lives of people across the world. Effectively, along with me, you will be living by faith in my mission and not by direct sight of it. I believe that this will have eternal consequences in your own lives as well as the lives of those that I meet. The impact will be global!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

So, if you would like to commit to what is unseen yet eternal and have faith in my mission, please consider financially supporting me on an ongoing basis. Email me and I will send you a "Financial Partners Support Form", otherwise, you can provide one-off donations.

Power in Simple Prayer

I have to thank a group of very close friends who have been so faithful in their prayerful support and encouragement. Last year, after the Mission Outreach conference, 8 of us formed the MPT (Mission Prayer Team) and we have faithfully met together once a month since Aug 06 to pray specifically for each other regarding our mission plans and where we are at in relation to where God wants us to be! We have seen amazing answers to our simple, yet faithful prayers, and we have all seen and experienced God working powerfully in our lives! One of our group is now studying at College in Victoria to be a member of the Mission Aviation Fellowship and is learning to be a pilot, which is the realization of a lifelong dream that he never thought possible! Another member of our group is in the process of planning to do a 5-month missionary course in Darwin. Others are considering study at Bible Colleges and involvement in community aid projects and changing careers to live out God's will in their lives. And of course, I am leaving everything that I love and know here in Sydney to live out God's will for the next 2 years on a ship which, if you had told me I would be doing this time last year, I would have laughed at you … God has certainly been at work!! The power of simple prayer has been evident in our lives and it is so encouraging to know that God is hearing us and responding according to His will.

Praise & Prayer Focus

Every month, I ask that you spend a few minutes sending up prayer points on my behalf because it is key to opening the way for God to work, so thank you for your prayers.

* Praise God for the donations of time, space and money that have been offered to help me with storing my stuff

* Praise God that he is listening to simple prayers and that the MPT group has now grown with the departure and impending departure of some of our members to do God's will

* Praise God continually for His faithfulness in raising up supporters who are contributing generously in finances and prayer

* Pray that God will give me peace in my packing process, which I am finding stressful and exhausting

* Pray that I will be able to be positive in the face of adversity when trials come my way and that I will stand strong knowing that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength (Phil 4:13) and that I do not have to do things in my own strength

* Pray that I will be uplifted and positive in my attitude towards work, packing and saying Good Bye to friends

* Pray for a spirit of confidence that God is in control and I do not need to worry about the small things, but rather that I can remain open minded and open-hearted to give Him the ability to continue working in my life always

Food For The Soul

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)

Will you help to "water" the seeds that I will be "planting"? Only God makes the flowers grow but together we can plant and water seeds of light, love and peace to a hurting world.

God's richest blessings in Christ to you … Vanoosh :o)

Noah's Lesson

2007-04-15T11:40:00.001+10:00

Find the one thing that can sink your boat ... and never lose heart!

Weight Management

2007-04-15T11:32:00.000+10:00

As some of you who "battle the bulge" know ... losing weight can be hard ... I've come to the conclusion that this is the best way to perform my weekly weigh in ... don't you just love it?!

Memories of Blue Bottle Mania

2007-04-15T10:48:00.000+10:00

One Sunday a few years ago ... a bunch of us were down at Dee Why Beach for brekkie ... and there were just masses and masses of blue bottles everywhere ... it was amazing!

Sunset on Sydney Harbour

2007-04-14T13:45:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite ferry shots ...

Accepting The Embrace of God : The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina

2007-04-12T23:57:00.000+10:00

Do you believe that God can talk to you? I do ...

Recently, I attended a bible study group where we learnt about "Lectio Divina" which is an ancient monastic method of reading the Scriptures. Latin for "Divine Reading" or "Praying the Scriptures", Lectio Divina is a quiet and contemplative way of coming to Gods Word in which the participant allows the rhythm of Scripture to wash over them as they meditate upon the passage. The process involves 5 steps and the first step is to select a passage of scripture or ask God to reveal a passage to you which you can meditate on.

I want to share how powerful God is, even when we don't understand His ways at the time.

Initially, when we undertook this process during the study, I chose a passage from Matthew or Mark, I forget which now but in the initial quiet time, I asked God to reveal to me anything that He wanted me to know and meditate on ... and a specific passage came into my head as clearly as if someone had spoken to me audibly - James 4:11

I had no idea what the passage was about but I thought to myself, well, I better check this out:

"11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbour?" (James 4:11-12)

Now you may be wondering why I've written this entry and what relevance it has ... the point is this ... at the time, I had no idea why God was revealing this passage to me, because I did not feel particularly judged by others and I also didn't feel guilty of being particularly judgmental of others. That's not to say that I am not guilty of this sin at times in my life or that I'm free of the judgment of others either.

Anyway, as we continued to work through our individual passages using the steps of Lectio Divina, I believe God had this message, which I want to share.

"Be careful and mindful of what you are thinking and saying about others, even if it remains in your own thoughts and headspace because you have no right to judge, only God has the right to judge. He knows your thoughts and the words you say before you utter them from your mouth. When you do these things, you are breaking God's law - be warned. Repent of all judgment of others and seek God's forgiveness for judging His laws. When you are free of judgment, then you can receive acceptance in your heart for things that are not meant for you."

As mentioned, at the time, I did not understand why God would reveal this to me and I felt convicted that perhaps there was some area in my life that I needed to review closely. However, in this past week, I have experienced judgment over my life which has been painful and upsetting. I have sought God's forgiveness and release from this judgment and the strength to rise above living in judgment of others, because I now know why God gave me this verse in the first place. I remain in awe of how God can speak to me through his Word even weeks before a time when I actually need to be guided by a specific passage in relation to a very real situation.

My prayer is that God will speak to you through his Word and that your life will be transformed ... and for those that wish to know more about this amazing way to connect with God ... read on about the steps to Lectio Divina

Method
Lectio is typically practiced daily for one continuous hour. A selection from the Holy Scriptures is chosen ahead of time, often as a daily progression through a particular book of the Bible.

Time
Selecting a time for lectio divina is important. Typical methods are to pray for one hour in the morning, or to divide it into two half-hour periods, one in the morning and one in the evening. The key is to pre-select the time that will be devoted to the prayer, and to keep it. Using the same time every day leads to a daily habit of prayer that becomes highly effective.

Place
The place for prayer is to be free from distractions. This means it should be isolated from other people, telephones, visual distractions, etc. The same place should be used for lectio if possible, especially as one first begins to practice it. Familiarity with a location reduces the possibility of distraction away from the prayer.

Preparation
Prior to reading, it is important to engage in a transitional activity that takes one from the normal state of mind to a more contemplative and prayerful state. A few moments of deep, regular breathing and a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer time helps to set the tone and improve the effectiveness of the lectio.

Once the stage is set it is time to begin the prayer. There are four phases of the prayer, which do not necessarily progress in an ordered fashion. One may move between different phases of the prayer very freely as the Spirit guides.

The Four Moments

Lectio
Read the passage slowly several times.

Meditatio
Reflect on the text of the passage, thinking about how to apply to one's own life. Gravitate to any particular phrase or word that seems to be of particular importance. This should not be confused with exegesis, but is a very personal reading of the Scripture and application to one's own life.

Oratio
Respond to the passage by opening the heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but more of the beginning of a conversation with God.

Contemplatio
Listen to God. This is a freeing oneself from one's own thoughts, both mundane and holy. It is about hearing God talk to us. Opening our mind, heart and soul to the influence of God. Any conversation must allow for both sides to communicate, and this most unfamiliar act is allowing oneself to be open to hearing God speak.

Further reading: http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html

May God Bless you and may you know Him in a deeper way through Lectio Divina.

Happy Easter to Princess Agnes Pearl : 6 months

2007-04-08T16:32:00.000+10:00

Our little Princess Agnes Pearl is growing fast ... and so beautiful too ... in case you didn't know, I just adore this child ... and I'm going to miss her soooooo much ... however, I was contemplating that at least I will be able to look at my own BLOG to remind myself of everyone! Agnes came to visit us on Easter Sunday and much to our delight, her gorgeous parents accompanied her too ... but she took centre stage with lights, camera ... action!

Fundraising Dinner : Saturday, 31 March 2007

2007-03-31T19:30:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, 31 Mar 07, Helen hosted a fundraising dinner for me which was a lot of fun! Along with 10 friends, we had a delicious dinner and enjoyed some fun time chatting by candlelight as we were also celebrating "Earth Hour".

Earth Hour involved turning off all electrical lights for 1 hour from 7.30pm to 8.30pm but we decided to maintain the candlelight which was lovely! Here are some memories of a fun night ... and a BIG THANKS to Helen for organising and delivering such a great meal!!

Sarah, Kristan & Bevan

Rach, Jono & Amy

Katie, Gerard, Amy, Jules & Helen

Katie & Gerard

Dinner ... a fun night!

Noosh News : March 07

2007-03-31T12:00:00.000+10:00

Dear Friend

** OFFICIAL NEWS **

On 9 Mar 07, I received confirmation that my application had officially been accepted to join the Ship LH. I was beside myself with excitement as this completed the final step in the application process and the reality of my mission is now tangibly within my grasp. I felt a deep sense of peace and contentment that daily, my life is being aligned with God's will and being obedient to His call has been one of the most amazing opportunities to draw close to God. I also feel affirmed that this is the right thing for me, at the right time and in the right way, and I've come to realise that God really does know what is best for me. If I allow Him the freedom and the control to work for my good, anything, and I mean anything, is possible!

March has been a really busy month and the weeks and days seem to have ticked over quicker than I could imagine ... with exactly 13 weeks to go before I leave, my finger is hovering over the minor panic button as I prepare to pack up my life and organise everything. My travel plans are now locked in as follows:
• Monday, 2 Jul 07: Fly to South Africa for 5 weeks
• Sunday, 5 Aug 07: Fly to London for 2 weeks
• Monday, 20 Aug 07: Fly/Train to The Netherlands for the Global Orientation ("GO") Conference for 2 weeks
• Saturday, 1 Sep 07 I go to pre-ship training, then board the LH

The most exciting event for me this month was my Commissioning Service which was held on Sunday, 25 Mar 07 at St Matthews, Manly. Despite the cold, wet weather, it was a really special day attended by 50 or so of my close friends. I was so privileged to have Jan, International Recruiter from The Netherlands as the key guest speaker! He was entertaining, funny, absolutely challenging and really inspiring. Everyone is still talking about the impact and impression he had on them. I felt incredibly blessed to have the love and support of my church family and being prayed over by everyone was very moving. Afterwards, we had a festive and scrumptious BBQ feast and enjoyed great fellowship together.

Thank You! I want to thank each and every one of my amazing friends who contributed in their own unique ways because without them, this event would not have been so memorable and I definitely would not have had so much fun!

Colour Conference

In mid-March, I attended the Hillsong Women's Colour Conference, which was phenomenal. Worshipping God with 17,000 other women is indescribable! The guest speakers were also excellent - J John really spoke to my heart. (www.hillsong.com/conferences/colour/) He showed me that when we pray, coincidences happen and we have HUGE potential because we have access to God's power within us. He also illustrated partnership in the form of a snowflake, which on it's own will melt within minutes of falling to the ground, but which together with hundreds and thousands of other snowflakes, can bring the world's largest cities around the world to a standstill. Partnership is fundamental to mission and I am more aware than ever how important your partnership is to me.

Finance Update

I am still in awe of how God is working to provide for my every need. As always, God is faithful to His promises and yet I continue to be surprised when amazing gifts are given, but all the glory goes to God. To date, we have raised just over $2,500 in one off gifts, which is just so overwhelming! These generous contributions have fully covered my "GO" Conference ticket and transport costs from the conference to the ship. In addition, this money will also cover travel costs to get to Europe from the UK. My parents have also generously paid for my air ticket to South Africa and Europe, which is amazing. However, in relation to ongoing support, I still need to find partners who are willing and able to commit and pledge their support on a monthly basis. Many people have asked me what my requirements are, so I hope you don't mind if I make these needs known here. I am also happy to discuss this in person with anyone who wants further information. My total budget requirement is approx. $1,750.00 per month (approx. $450/week). So, in relation to the pledges I have received to date, and from our calculations, I require either:
12 people to commit $100 per month ($25/week) OR
24 people to commit $50 per month ($12.50/week).

Alternatively, you can pledge to commit a monthly amount or a Once Off gift, as you feel led to give in relation to your ability.

Other examples of practical support for me include a couple of friends offering me the opportunity to store some boxes in their garage and under their house which is a fabulous support, as it means that my storage costs will be decreased, and I can now budget for a smaller size storage container space. Another great initiative was the organization of a fundraising dinner hosted by Helen with 10 other friends at her home. We had a great night and also celebrated "Earth Hour" which involved everyone in Sydney turning off all electrical lights for an hour, so we spent the evening in candlelight as a reminder of our concern and care for our world and the environment … and it was fun!

Work & Other News

I have been working as a Rehabilitation Consultant since 5 Mar 07 and it's been interesting and somewhat challenging to be tackling workers compensation from the other side of the fence again! The people I work with are all really lovely and, for the most part, I'm enjoying the challenge but I'm so pleased to daily remind myself that this is not my long term career and I'm counting down to my last day - Friday, 22 Jun 07!

Other events this month have included having my cousins Paul and Alison to stay for a brief weekend visit. It was great to have family visiting and to be able to share our beautiful city with them and show them our stunning beaches and coastline.

Praise & Prayer Focus

I am very committed to praying about my mission and having prayer partners is vital to keeping me "afloat" literally and figuratively speaking! I am so excited that my Prayer Cards have arrived so if you don’t yet have one, please let me know and I will get one to you. In addition, please take a minute of your time to lift up these praise & prayer points on my behalf. Thank you for your prayers!

* Praise God for giving me confirmation and affirmation that His will is being done in my life

* Praise God that the Commissioning Service was so special, that Jan was able to speak to us and for the support and care of my church family

* Praise God for the generosity of so many people in contributing financially and prayerfully to my mission

* Pray that God will continue to raise up committed prayer and financial supporters

* Pray that my role on board the LH will be rewarding and fulfilling and that I will be able to utilise my God given gifts, skills and abilities to glorify God and to help and serve others

* Pray that my upcoming travel will be stress and hassle free especially with deciding what I can and cannot take with me

* Pray for the accommodation on board the ship and for the roommate(s) that I will be sharing with. Please pray that we will become close friends who live well together and are tolerant, considerate and respectful of each other's differences and unique cultural backgrounds

Food For The Soul

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God" (Acts 20:24)

This verse in my prayer card is very special to me because it was actually prophesied into my life about 4 years ago. Stephen Lungu, a Zimbabwean ex-terrorist and guerrilla came to St Matts in 2003 and gave his testimony. Abandoned at a very young age, he lived under a bridge and had no education. Taken in by rebels, he became a guerilla fighter and was responsible for murders and violence. One day, along with his comrades, he had planned to bomb a Christian gathering in Harare, but in the process, he was powerfully transformed by God's love and convicted of his sin. He now speaks 10 languages, promotes the Christian organization called "African Enterprise" and travels the world. He spends his life sharing the gospel with hundreds of thousands of people in many countries and cultures.

He wrote the verse above as part of his autograph in his book "Out of the Black Shadows", which I purchased that night. I remember him telling me that I would live out that verse one day. What blew me away was that I had completely forgotten about this prophecy until I was in Melbourne trying to figure out what verse to include in my prayer card. I picked up a random postcard on a bookshelf and as I read that exact verse, I was reminded there and then of the moment that Stephen Lungu had written that verse in my book … and I knew that this verse was the one that was meant for my prayer card … it defined my mission and I believe it is anointed by God through prophecy in my life!

God is truly mysterious and amazing …

May you have a God-inspired and a Spirit-filled month wherever you may be and wherever God may lead you!

Blessings in Christ

Vanoosh :o)

ps. I'm updating my "snail mail" address book so please send me your details so I'm up to speed on any changes and check my BLOG for more photos and news throughout the month at your leisure

Commissioning Service : Sunday, 25 March 2007

2007-03-28T01:05:00.001+10:00

Today, Sunday, 25 March 2007 at 12.30pm, St Matthews held a special Commissioning Service for me to bless me, to pray for me and to send me out with their support, love and care!! Over 50 people braved the cold, wet weather to join me for the service which was very special to me and very moving!! I cannot describe what a blessing it is to know that I have the love and support of my church family on this life-changing journey ... it's special beyond words!

We sang two of my most treasured songs - "Worthy is the Lamb" and "For Me to Live is Christ", then we watched a very challenging DVD called "Global Village". Richard Harvey, our Senior Minister then welcomed everyone and Jenna Richard, OM NSW State Director then gave us some of the history of OM.

This was followed by a fantastically witty, challenging, inspiring and brilliant message from a very special guest speaker from The Netherlands, Jan Den Ouden who is the OM International Recruiter. He was just amazing and his approach to God and life was so inspiring!

After Jan had finished, we listened to a very special song from a DVD by MercyMe called "Here Am I" ... it is a missionary song about asking God to "Send Me" and then I gave a brief testimony as to why I have reached this major turning point in my life.

After that we had the Commissioning Vows and the everyone laid hands on me and Michael prayed for me which was just awesome!!

The BBQ then kicked off and we had some more fun chatting and socialising!! Here are some of the memories of a great day!

Me, Cassie & Todd

Dixie & Sarah

Me, Barbara (my Mentor) and Richard

Jim and Jan

Me & The Boys ... Kose (L), Callum (R) & Mark in front

Mia with her beautiful seeds and Ben, our sound guru!

Warren and Michael ... ??

Me, Caroline & Martin

The BBQ Crew - Thijs, Jono, Stephy & Nats

Jan and Henke

Mands and Raph

Stella ... Carrie & Warren's gorgeous little Angel

Carrie, Sozon & Michael

Amy, Esmarie and Bevan

Sarah, Pete & Leila

Jo and Ing

Cathy and Maggie

Mands and Mands ... two peas in a pod!!

Talita and Kirsten

Rach, Jenna and Karen with my elephant piggy bank!

Richard & Sandra

Kaz and the elusive "Nooshka OM Fund" elephant!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST : Brad Foye

2007-03-23T22:57:00.000+11:00

For those that know Brad (but even if you don't!), he is a very dear friend of mine and I would really appreciate it if you could please pray for him URGENTLY ... as you may or may not know, Brad suffered a shocking 25m fall off a cliff late last year in October 2006 and broke his left leg in 5 places! It was a miracle that he survived the fall, let alone coming out of it with nothing more than 1 broken leg, some bruises and grazes!! He was considered to be extremely fortunate ... God was watching over him!!

He has been on a slow but progressive path to full recovery and has been walking with a cane for support after he was able to give up his crutches. However, in the last week or so, Brad has been suffering from severe back pain and pain in his "good" right leg ... he has since discovered that he has a problem with a bulging disc in his spine which may require surgery. This is as a result of him favouring his right leg while his broken left leg continues to heal slowly, which has now impinged on his spine!

Please pray for the following:

** A full healing in his left leg including full healing of any blood clotting
** A full healing in his spine and removal of all pain so that he can have good sleep and rest
** Good responses to all the treatment he is receiving
** Patience and peace regarding why this is happening and the frustrations he is experiencing
** A good outcome with the Specialist appointment on Monday

Praise God for:

** His Brother Rod and His Mum & Dad for all their efforts in helping him
** That he remains in fairly high spirits despite all these set backs

PRAYER IS THE POWER OF GOD WORKING IN US!!

Hillsong Womens' Colour Conference : 15-17 March 2007

2007-03-17T18:30:00.001+11:00

What an absolutely fantastic Colour Conference ... it was held in the Acer Arena, Homebush for the first time ever and there were over 17,000 women there!! Phenomenal ... the worship was ... well ... mind blowing really ... and the speakers were inspiring and challenging and funny!! We laughed, we cried, we worshiped, we prayed, we had great fellowship ... we even got pampered ... nails, massages, hair, makeup ... and we bought lots of great resources to help us more forward!

The main theme for 2007 was ... Imagine ... a REVOLUTION in Value!!

There was also a lot of LOVE going around ... Sister's, it is our time to unite ... for God and love the world into God's kingdom!

There was a big emphasis on "Sisterhood" this year where we could sponsor children through Compassion - over 1,100 kids were sponsored which was amazing and nearly 800 Boxes were filled for Operation Christmas Child to go to kids in Cambodia.

We were also challenged by the moving and emotionally charged documentary on the "Invisible Children" of Northern Uganda who have been caught up in the horrendous civil war and who are daily abducted by the "LRA" - Lord's Resistance Army who then turn them into child soldiers and ruthless killers! We heard from Marilyn Skinner, the founder of Watoto Children's Orphanage (see my previous entry about the Watoto Children's Choir who visited St Matts last year)

Colour Conference : Bobbie Houston

2007-03-17T18:30:00.000+11:00

For those of you who were unable to attend this year, I want to share some key points from the conference which really made me feel inspired and challenged to keep my fire for God burning brightly! I also cannot encourage you enough girls ... go to Colour 2008 ... your life will be changed forever!!

Bobbie Houston is a really interesting character ... she's quirky, funny and a bit ditzy but she packs a powerful message in short sharp punches which hit the spot every time ... she is quite inspiring for her 50 years of age too! She told us that "Revolution = radical, complete and prevailing change". She also made 3 key points: (1) We need to know the hour of our visitation ie. we need to know our identity in the day and times in which we live. (2) We need to live as daughters of salvation - when we get God's revelation of who we truly are, breakthrough is achieved. (3) We need to live in the realm of our responsibility - knowing our purpose in God. When we respond with the ability we have, God will increase our ability to do more.

This is how radical, revolutionary change can be achieved!

Colour Conference 2007 : Key Note Speakers

2007-03-17T18:00:00.001+11:00

J John was a fantastic speaker ... he was an evangelical version of Mr Bean ... hilarious ... but so brilliant too! God really spoke to my heart through his teaching ... here are some of the pearls of wisdom he imparted about evangelism ...

"Don't worry about what you don't know, get on with what you do know!

A lighthouse doesn't make any noise, but you can still see it - we need to visually communicate the gospel to the world ie. show God's love in a tangible way! If you're not an evangelist, you're a witness!

A missionary is not someone who crosses the sea, a missionary is someone who sees the cross!

I loved this next picture which Mother Theresa painted when she said ... "Every follower of Jesus Christ is a pencil in the hand of God, sending love letters to the world!"

Our job is to go into God's orchard and check which fruit is ripe, and when we find a ripe piece of fruit, we need to pick it but we must not pick it too early or too late because it may fall to the ground and become bad ...

Our greatest need in the whole world is forgiveness ... and that is why God sent his Son, our Saviour

The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart!

In addition, J John also talked about wanting 3 things from God: (1) God to reinforce what I already know and do. (2) God to remind me of what I should know and do. (3) God to reveal things that we don't know but need to do. We need to get God's purpose and not be like Christopher Columbus who, when he set out on his first voyage, had no idea of where he was going, when he got there he didn't know where he was, and when he returned, he didn't know where he had been!

Get God's perspective - No matter how lost or dirty or broken you think you are, you have not lost your value in God's eyes.

We need to PRAY ... we can't do it alone or in our own strength. When we pray, coincidences happen and we have HUGE potential. We need to be in Partnership ... if you think of a snowflake ... on it's own, it will melt within seconds of falling to the ground ... but together with thousands of other little snowflakes, it will stop traffic in the largest city in the world! We also need to Persevere and run the race in such a way that we keep the flame burning together. We only have enough time to do the Will of God, and if we don't have enough time, we are not doing the Will of God.

Charlotte Scanlin-Gambill also spoke this weekend with some powerful words of encouragement and challenge ... she took us on a journey regarding how God wants to give us gifts and He does this in the form of "flat packs", like you get at IKEA or any other furniture outlet these days, where you are required to put in a lot of hard work and effort with DIY to get to the actual piece of furniture you bought in the first place ... only God keeps throwing challenges out to us! Her 3 key points were: (1) Face your inadequacy and focus on your responsibility. (2) Take your rest. (3) Partnership is key.

Don't ask God to do what you can do, ask God to do what you can't do.

Later in the conference she told us about how to "Grow Up" in God where she explained that age is not the issue but how grown up you can be with God's word. She warned that we should be careful what we invite into our lives because we will be responsible for it and that we should make sure that we really, really, really, really want what we want because the price tag is expensive and costly to God and ultimately to ourselves.

Lisa Bevere was also an amazing woman who is after God's own heart. With only one functioning eye (she lost the other to cancer at an early age), she spoke with passion and powerful conviction ... enough to move us to tears and changes in our own lives! She told us that it is not about being perfect, it is about redeeming your mistakes. We were made to have no limits and to know the truth, so therefore fear, lies and doubt have no hold in our lives. You will never be powerful if you live a lie or try to be someone that you are not. Engrave God's word on your heart because He loves to face what you fear so that you can become fearless. Later, she continued her message which involved understanding that when you release what is in your hand, God releases what is in His hand. God is connecting people who are in the spirit and doing the Will of God.

Imagination = more important than knowledge (Albert Einstein)

Never use your strength against someone else's weakness, use it to build their strengths.

God is so Good!

Lightening Strikes : Sunday, 4 March 07

2007-03-04T20:30:00.000+11:00

On Sunday night we had a massive electric storm ... it was pretty wild and the electric fork lightening was incredible ... here are some of my shots from the night and also some that were sent to me ...

My photos are not the best as I was unable to use my tripod so I had the shakes and I'm still learning to capture long exposure shots ... of course, capturing lightening bolts is not easy either!!!

Maggie's Surprise 30th Bollywood Party : Sat, 3 Mar 07

2007-03-03T19:00:00.000+11:00

Tonight we threw a surprise 30th birthday party in Bollywood style for Maggie ... she had no idea and it has been the best kept secret in town for a while ... we had a fabulous evening ... much laughter, a fantastic spread of great Indian food prepared by the hands of Mia and lots of good fun!! Here are some of the memories created ...

Waiting for the guest of honour to arrive ...

SURPRISE!!!!!

Dude .... that was a cool parrrrttttyyy!! Yeah ... rock on!

Noosh News : February 07

2007-02-28T12:00:00.000+11:00

Dear Friend

Imagine seeing God's undeniable hand at work directly in your own life and knowing that He has everything under his control…

February 2007 has been an exciting month for me. I arrived back from Adelaide and had six days to rest and catch up with friends before I flew to Melbourne on Friday, 9th to attend the Global Action Orientation ("GAO") week.

I stayed with my school friend, Lyn in the heart of St Kilda, which was fabulous fun! Lyn took me up the Mornington Peninsula to a beautiful winery called "Red Hill Estate" and we visited her sister Kerryn, Rowan and her adorable niece, Tara. The next day, we walked around the annual St Kilda festival - lots of bands, activities and much festivity to enjoy!

GAO started on the Monday at the OM Head Office. Negotiating Melbourne traffic in Lyn's brand new car was scary enough, not to mention having to dodge those tricky trams!! Thankfully, I travelled safely throughout the week and had a great time at GAO! Every morning began with devotions from different speakers and they really focused our attention on God. My favourite devotion was on Spiritual Warfare with the following main points:

* Mission must be undertaken in God's strength & power
* We ignore God's spiritual protection at our own peril
* Spiritual forces can only be engaged with spiritual weapons and repelled with spiritual protection
* Our most dangerous enemies are those we can't see and those we don't know
* The best form of spiritual protection against spiritual attack is to live a life closely connected to God

All the other sessions were highly informative and it was really interesting to learn more about how everything operates nationally and internationally. I was really impressed with the comprehensive training we received and the useful tools we were provided with to assist us in progressing our vision and mission. It was also great to meet the staff at Head Office and other people who are considering different mission opportunities.

I really love God's sense of humour and the way that he is teaching me to trust him 100% for everything in my life. He knew that one of my biggest fears regarding becoming a missionary was that my financial situation would be sorted out. So when I discovered that things were not quite what they seemed in relation to undertaking work at the NSW Office, I suffered my first minor miscarriage of vision and was suddenly left with the dilemma of having to find paid work until I left for the ship. I remained calm and collected despite some initial stress and prayed up a storm to God for guidance, direction and assistance!

On my return to Sydney, I made a decision that on approval of my application, I would join the Ship in August this year instead of Jan 08. I plan to leave on 2 July to visit my family in South Africa and spend two weeks in the UK. If my place on the Ship is confirmed, I will go to the Global Orientation ("GO") Conference in The Netherlands, before joining the ship.

These decisions meant that I had to find paid work for four months in the interim and this is when God stepped in. On the Monday after I got back, I sent an email to three friends asking if they knew of any short-term contract opportunities. Every advert in the recruitment websites was asking for a minimum of six months. However, one additional email, a phone call and one interview later, I had secured a four month contract working in rehab with flexible hours and time frames and at a rate of pay equivalent to my GIO job!! I start work on Monday, 5 March. Again, I was reminded that God is in control of everything!!

Brenda, the leader of the MCC in Adelaide stayed for 2 nights and we went into the city to see the spectacle of the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 passing each other in the harbour. It was quite incredible to be part of such an historical moment and I got really excited about seeing such majestic ships. We also caught up with Sandra and Rhyne, other MCC members, and had a great time!

God has been so good to me in bringing me to my knees in dependence upon Him for everything, particularly in the area of my finances. I praise God for everyone that has pledged to support me and partner with me in this exciting journey of faith, trials, obedience and trust.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (Philemon 1:4-6)

Praise & Prayer Focus

Please take a minute of your time to lift up these praise & prayer points on my behalf. Thank you for your prayers!

* Praise God for his goodness, for his efforts in daily refining my character and for securing this 4-month contract to provide for my financial needs whilst I am in Sydney

* Praise God that GAO was informative and a confirmation of where He wants me to serve

* Praise God for Kirsten who has offered to be my Financial Manager and has helped me with my budget!

* Pray that God will continue to raise up committed prayer supporters and people to serve as part of my sending cell

* Pray that I will find the right storage options for all my stuff and that I will be focused, organised and diligent as I prepare to pack up my life's belongings for 2 years.

* Pray that God will continue to speak to the hearts of people who are willing to provide financial support as His Spirit leads them and that I will be humble in accepting their pledges

Food For The Soul

2 Corinthians 8:3-5 - Sacrificial Giving

Proverbs 30:8 - Balanced Measure of Daily Bread

2 Peter 1:3-11 - Making One's Calling & Election Sure

Financial & Prayerful Support

If you are interested in partnering with me either financially or prayerfully, my prayer cards are in the process of being printed and will hopefully be available very soon. I would love to send you a copy to put on your fridge as a reminder to pray for me.

I thank God that He has been clearly working in my life and I pray that you will be encouraged and challenged to seek to know Him more.

God Bless You

Vanoosh :o)

Two Queens and a Beautiful Harbour Rendevous : Tuesday, 20 Feb 07

2007-02-20T18:30:00.000+11:00

Well today was an historical day when the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 were in Sydney Harbour together for the first time since back in World War 2. They are both spectacularly beautiful and majestic ships and so along with my South African friend Brenda, we jumped on the Manly ferry at 6.00pm amongst the jostling crowds and one particularly rude man who pushed and shoved me so much so that I had to actually fight him back just to stand on my feet ... it was horrible and quite ridiculous! Nonetheless, while we were on the ferry, we were privileged to see the 2 Queen's passing one another in Sydney Harbour which was a real treat! There were smaller craft everywhere and everyone had turned out to see the sight ... there were so many people in Circular Quay and around the harbour foreshore, it was like New Year's Eve all over again.

We watched the QE2 berth at Circular Quay ...

Then we legged it across the Botanical Gardens to catch sight of her sister, the QM2 which is ENORMOUS!! She is 23 storey's high and as long as the Sydney Harbour bridge (about 4 city blocks) and really dwarfed most things that ventured near her both in the water and on the land. In our dash to beat the fading light, we had a chat with a German couple who were actually passengers on the QM2 - they were next to us at one of the many bottle neck points at the gates in/out of the Botanical Gardens ... we feared that they may not make it back on board in time as they still had a long way to walk and it was already 8.30pm by this stage ... but then we figured that if they can afford to live on the QM2 for 40 days at a cool price tag of $4,000/night or something along those lines, they would probably be able to afford an air ticket to the next destination if they missed the boarding.

What a fun night ... it was like a New Year's Eve party with thousands of people everywhere and fireworks and festivities!! By the time we got back on the ferry, we were exhausted ...

Global Action Orientation : 12-17 Feb 07

2007-02-15T23:23:00.000+11:00

Well I've been in Melbourne for nearly a week and it's been fantastic fun to see my good school friend Lyn who I'm staying with! We had a great weekend together catching up on old times, laughing over good memories and sharing about where we are at now! On Saturday, Lyn drove me up the Mornington Peninsula which was beautiful and something I had not seen before! She took me to a stunning vineyard called "Red Hill Estate" where she treated me to a fantastic gourmet lunch! It was spectacular!

We then dropped in to see her sister Kerryn with her husband Rowan and their gorgeous little bub, Tara who was too sweet - full of smiles and just adorable!! We spent the afternoon watching a game of local cricket over their back yard fence and then had dinner together which was really lovely!

On Sunday, it was the annual St Kilda Festival which was very festive, fun and full of laughs, people and good times! We met up with Lyn's friends Karen, Simon, Jo and James for a bite before heading off to watch a few bands, check out the thrilling wake boarders, do a bit of celebrity spotting ... and so much more! It was a very hot and glorious day so we ended up back at Karen & Simon's apartment which overlooks the whole event ... we had a BBQ and spent the afternoon and evening soaking in the party atmosphere and having a great time!

On Monday, I had to negotiate Melbourne peak morning traffic for the hour it took me to get to the orientation! Thankfully, I made it safely and I've spent the week drinking in as much information as I possibly can about all I need to know about the Ship ministry, where, when and how I can serve! I am so excited about what the future holds ... it's so close, it's tangible.

Obviously, life would not be what it is without some challenges along the way and God's word tells us that it's not "if" trials will come, but "when" ... and I have to say is that I have been challenged in more ways than one! All in all, my end goal remains to join the Ships ... and possibly sooner than I was expecting which is exciting!

I am looking forward to being back in Sydney to take a breathe and review where my journey has taken me in these past 6 weeks ... God is so faithful and so good and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share my vision and my experiences with you. God Bless you wherever you may be!

Tara ... Lyn's Niece

2007-02-10T18:00:00.000+11:00

Lynnie's little niece Tara is just adorable ... here are some snaps of her having fun ...

Maybe God CAN Use YOU!

2007-02-06T00:26:00.000+11:00

Noah got drunk ...
Moses had a stuttering problem ...
Gideon was afraid ...
Sampson had long hair and was a womaniser ...
Rahab was a prostitute ...
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young ...
David had an affair and was a murderer ...
Peter denied Christ ...
Elijah was suicidal ...
Isaiah preached naked ...
Jonah ran from God ...
Naomi was a widow ...
Job went bankrupt ...
John The Baptist ate bugs ...
The Disciples fell asleep while praying ...
Martha worried about everything ...
Mary Magdalene was, well, you know ...
The Samaritan woman was divorced ... (more than once)
Zaccheus was too small ...
Paul was too religious ...
Timothy had an ulcer ...
Lazarus was dead!
The Donkey at Balaam ...

... no more excuses now ... God is waiting to use you to your full potential! (Besides, you are not the message, you are just the messenger!)

Love Feast Poem : 1 February 2007

2007-02-01T18:00:00.001+11:00

Rhyne, Nan, Christina and I with help from Sydney acted out the following poem as a tribute to each person on the course who brought something unique to share ... and it was also a tribute to the leaders of the course, Brenda, Chris, Ruddy, Christina and others as well as the staff at the Adelaide YWAM base who hosted us with great hospitality.

A few weeks ago
We really didn't know
What this Member Care course had in store
And how we would grow to learn more and more

But as time has passed
We've had a real BLAST
So tonight we will share
Our journey of Member Care

Brenda was our Leader, a busy little bee
She imparted wisdom, knowledge and finesse
And she uniquely managed her stress
By "stealing" fruit and chasing koalas up the tree!

Chris was our co-leader with many a story to tell
Of re-entry, confrontation and singleness in life
But thank God for him, he eventually fell
In love with Gina, and made her his wife!

Christina & Ruddy are a formidable pair
Full of laughter and jokes and fun
With lots of experience in MKs and family welfare
And Sydney provided lots of smiles and moments of sun!

Kevin played a tune or two
To make our worship times so special and sweet
And we all had a room with a view
Into each other's hearts when with God we did meet

Peter and Sue celebrated their marriage anniversary with us
Nan took her intercessory warrior stand
Dan was the cool man with not much fuss
And Sandra Lee was the song bird singer in Ruddy's band

Jenna was the pro on selection and screening
Gloria kept the tea and coffee refreshed and hot
Vanoosh gave her new life new meaning
And Shirley shared her experiences on Gambia and her contingency plot - NOT!

Viv was a gem who brought so much love
While Bek & Ros brought wisdom of YWAM ways
Josie reminded us of the wonderful Counsellor from above
And Pat was the inspiration for weekend Pyjama days

Rhyne was the quite achiever and everyone's friend
And the Holy Spirit carried us to the course end
We learnt so muhc, we passed the tests
We believe that MCC Adelaide 07 was the best!

To the YWAM base, we thank God for you all
For the comfy stay, great fellowship and meals
We have all had an absolute ball
In the gardens, at the markets and in tours on YWAM wheels

May God bless your work, your life and your home
And may He provide for you wherever you roam
For now it's time to say farewell
We will forget you never
May God's glory in your lives continue to dwell
Because this time and these friendships will be ones to remember forever

All in all, the course was terrific and the YWAM base was sublime
Our knowledge and experiences will go far and wide if we dare
Because our Great God through us all will shine
His light to missionaries who deserve GREAT MEMBER CARE!!

Love Feast : 1 February 2007

2007-02-01T18:00:00.000+11:00

Our last night together was a festive celebration called the "Love Feast" where we all got together to share a meal and to thank God for each other and for the wonderful things that we had learned and the friendships we had formed. With invited guests, family and friends, there were approximately 100 people at the feast which was terrific!! As part of our farewell, we had to do a little skit in our small groups to depict something of what we had learned and my little group acted out a poem which I wrote ... it was a blast of fun!!

Karen & Carrie

Viv and Rick

Sandra, Rhyne, Rick, Viv & Brenda

Gloria, Pat, Kev and Nan with her son (sitting)

Ros & Friend

Jenna & Me

Fiona, Shirley, Bek's mum, Bek and Friend

Ruddy and Christina

The Boys ... Dan and Damien with a Friend

Jenna & Dan ... in skit mode

Noosh News : January 07

2007-01-31T12:00:00.000+11:00

Welcome to "Noosh News" where you will get to read all about what God has been doing in my life over the month. January 2007 began with closure and a new beginning. The closure signalled the end of a chapter in my secular working life and the beginning of a life living by faith. I flew to Adelaide on Sunday, 7 Jan 07 with Jenna to commence a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) - "Member Care" Course (MCC) for 4 weeks. Our "home" was the YWAM base in the hills of Norton Summit. The course was run by a South African lady with many years of experience in missions and member care. There were 14 students from 5 different mission organizations, covering 4 nationalities - South Africa, New Zealand, Philippines and Australia and age ranged from 23 to 76 years with missionary experience from zero to 30+ years on the field. I really felt spiritually mentored as I gained many insights, inspirations and encouragements from their stories of God's faithfulness, mind-blowing God moments and answers to prayer on the mission field.

Jenna and I were blessed to share Bek's little 2-room unit on the base. We had a separate lounge area for TV and relaxing and a bedroom with 4 huge bunk beds - with the highest ceilings I've ever seen!! We spent the next 4 weeks learning about how to care for missionaries and I really believe that God placed me there for all the right reasons. The course was also a foundational grounding for understanding what issues and pitfalls missionaries face and how to deal with them. We covered topics including Attrition, Dysfunctional Families, Missionary Kids & Families, Contingency Planning, Financial Support Raising & Budgeting, Self Care, Selection & Screening, Newsletters, Sending Cells, Debriefing & Counselling, Grief, Miscarriage of Vision, Moral Failure, Re-entry, Culture Shock, Intercession, Team Work, Confrontation and Singleness.

A typical day on the course started at 7.00am for showers & brekkie, then worship time at 8.30am or work duties (cleaning the base!) on Mon & Thurs mornings, 9.00am - 12.30pm was class time, and lunch was served promptly at 12.30pm. After lunch, we had free time and then class started again from 2.30pm - 5.30pm. During the week, dinner was served at 6.00pm. Everyone ate together in the dining room and then retired for the evening to either go for a walk around the base and the vineyards, or to spend some quiet time meditating on the Word and praying or watching a bit of TV and heading to bed! Weekends were free time to ourselves. I attended 2 different churches, had OM dinner commitments, explored the city, went to the central markets and I spent one weekend on Kangaroo Island which was fantastic. It was a treat to be amongst amazing wildlife - penguins, sea lions, wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, seals, dolphins and heaps of birds. I also saw the Remarkable Rocks and the Admiral's Arch as well, both of which were beautiful natural formations.

We had regular small group sessions where we talked and prayed for one another. We also had 3 tests, which we passed with flying colours. In addition, we had lots of debriefing to ensure that we were tracking okay and to deal with any issues that may have arisen or needed to be dealt whether in the present or the past. I found these times were real opportunities of spiritual strengthening when someone genuinely listened to everything that I said without any judgments or attempts to find quick resolve. We also had incredible intercessory prayer as we waited on God to minister, prophesy and provide spiritual guidance. It was so evident to me that there was a very healthy interdependence on one another yet a complete dependence on God in all things and acknowledgment that without Jesus we cannot do anything by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We celebrated the end with a "Love Feast"!!

All in all, I strengthened my faith, learned heaps about Member Care and missionary preparation, had amazing intercessory prayers spoken over my life and had confirmation that God has me exactly where he wants me to be! Please email me your prayer requests and news - would love to hear from you! Thanks for taking the time to read my news - will be in touch next month!

I fly to Melbourne on Friday, 9 Feb 07 for the OM Orientation so please pray that God will guide me on the time frames for going to the ship - Thx!

Praise & Prayer Focus
Please take a minute of your time to lift up these praise & prayer points on my behalf. Thank you for your prayers!

* Praise God for his faithfulness

* Praise God that I learned so much from the MCC course to prepare me for my journey

* Pray that God will continue to raise up committed prayer supporters and a strong sending cell

* Pray that God will speak to the hearts of people who want to willing provide financial support as they are led

* Pray that God will continue to lead me by the power of His Holy Spirit to know the right timing for joining the Ship and that the Global Action Orientation week in Melbourne will be a fruitful time

Food For The Soul
Micah 5:4-5 - Missionary Care
Hebrews 3:13 - Encouragement
Hebrews 11:6 - Faith in God
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - Comfort in Trouble
Deuteronomy 8:3 - Bread of Life

Kangaroo Island : Friday, 26 Jan to Sunday, 28 Jan 07

2007-01-27T19:20:00.000+11:00

I left Adelaide at 3.15pm on Friday, 26 Jan 07 after classes in the morning and then an OM BBQ in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens which was lovely! The trip to Cape Jervis was approx. 2hrs and then we boarded the ferry to Kangaroo Island. I met a lovely local farmer called Sandra along the way. When I arrived on the Island at Penneshaw, there to greet me was a little blue fairy penguin ... it was gorgeous and a rare sighting as they are apparently not often seen now with the drought. I have been staying at the YHA which has been very comfortable and pleasant - the only difficulty was that I had to negotiate a top bunk which was a bit scary as the guard rail was not stable and kept falling off the bed?! Tonight however, I've got a bottom bunk so that is cool!!

Anyway, today I spent the day on a tour around the island which was fantastic! Our first stop was at Seal Bay where we walked on the beach with Australian Sea Lions who were basking in the sun, catching up on their sleep and one or two were swimming in the ocean ... it was spectacular!

Then we went to lunch on a farm and were treated to some koalas, a tame wallaby and an elusive echidna which I didn't get to see! We also had a typical Aussie BBQ lunch!

After that we went to the "Remarkable Rocks" which lived up to their name ... they are granite rocks that have been shaped into some amazing features due to exposure from the wind, sun, rain and salty sea water ... we had a lot of fun exploring the rocks and taking heaps of photos!!

Our last main tour stop was at the "Admiral's Arch" and there we were treated to a show by a bunch of New Zealand Seals who were swimming, fighting in the rock pools, weaning their babies which was quite despairing to watch the little things looking for a teat to attach themselves to much to the disdain of the females they were "attacking" ... and then we spotted some dolphins jumping in the waves and frolicking about with the seals which was absolutely superb fun ... it caused me and a couple of Austrian's on the bus with us to be late getting back to the bus for the final departure but it was worth the run ...

We also got close to a few kangaroos and wallabies and we even got to see the elusive echindna on the road side but I missed a photo opportunity with it?! However, when I get back to Sydney, I will have heaps of photos to download so "watch this space" ... and keep checking back if you are interested in seeing my photos from the trip!!

I have had a wonderfully relaxing time here ... have had some alone time to think about life and the transition of my life at this point in time. I've had time to pray and connect with God in such a beautiful, serene and relaxing environment ... God is amazing ... His fingerprints are all over this place!!

Will be back in Adelaide tomorrow ... then our final week of the course with a "Love Feast" celebration on Thursday night and finally, I will be back in Sydney next Saturday, 3 Feb 07! I'm so looking forward to being home and seeing everyone again ... until then ... God Bless You wherever you may be in the world!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY NICOLA!!! : Thursday, 25 Jan 07

2007-01-23T13:52:00.000+11:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my darling little niece Nicola for this Thursday, 25 January 2007!!

I can't believe she is already 1 year old ... how time flies ... and we have yet to meet in person?! Big Hugs of Love from Aunty Noosh :o)

Trip to Hahndorf : Adelaide : Saturday, 20 Jan 07

2007-01-20T10:30:00.000+11:00

On our weekends off, we explored the local surroundings and Jenna and I spent the day at a little German village called "Hahndorf" which was loads of fun! The weather was not great ... bit wet and cold ... and we ran our car battery flat by leaving the lights on so we had to get creative and with assistance from the locals, we were soon on our way again! Here are some memories from the trip ...

There were some quaint shops around with yummy goodies in ... all with a German flavour and style ...

We had lunch at the German Pub which served only German dishes ...

... and they even had a German entertainer!

MCC : Some Photos

2007-01-18T14:02:00.000+11:00

Here are some photos that I took in Adelaide of all the different things that I got up to for your enjoyment!

Adelaide is known as the "City of Spires" as there are so many churches ... and it's true ... I loved this cross on the local Anglican church at Norton Summit.

On our very first day at the base, we spotted 2 wild koalas in a tree off the road near the base ...

Peek-a-boo ... I can see you!!

The YWAM Base is located in Norton Summit, in the foothills overlooking Adelaide. The base used to be a Governor's house, then became an orphanage and overlooks the Morialta vineyard and the Australian bush ... a beautiful serene setting ... and home for the 4 weeks we were in Adelaide!

The view from the top balcony of the base looking back towards Adelaide City ...

The YWAM staff took us on a tour of Adelaide city which included a couple of Friday night outing trips to the Central Market in Adelaide city ... this is the largest fresh produce market in the Southern Hemisphere ... or some claim to fame like it?!

Our class was made up of 14 students, 1 leader and 3 co-leaders ... from 5 different mission organisations, 4 nationalities and ranging in age from 23 to 76!!

Class time was busy, busy, busy ... lots of note writing, discussion groups, worship time, intercessory prayer, small groups and lectures ... including tests!!

There were some beautiful flowers around the base ... and for those that know me well, you would know how much I love flowers!

On our walk up to the local post office and pub, we spotted a mother and baby koala ... we saw another 2 adults in other trees too ... it was amazing to spot so many wild koalas as it is a rare sighting ... one of the people on the base told us that they had not see a wild koala in the 4 years they had lived on the base?!

MCC : Comets, Photos, Prayer & News Updates : Wednesday, 17 Jan 07

2007-01-17T13:41:00.000+11:00

Well I had to write another entry because I'm so excited ... tonight I got to see a Comet called the "McNaught" Comet which will apparently never be seen again in our life time. The comet is currently in the Australian skyline and is most visible just after the sun has gone down but it is not quite dark yet ... it was so visible here in Adelaide with a long white tail section and a few bright bits in the main part of it ... I was absolutely blown away that I could see it so clearly and I managed to get some great photos of it which again, I will share once I'm back in Sydney so don't forget to check the BLOG after early Feb for all the photos ... how amazing!! I've been told that it is currently over the Sydney Opera House which would be spectacular to see too!

In addition, I was sent a photo of our class which I wanted to share with you all so you can see who I am spending my days with and living in community with ... here is our MCC Adelaide Class 2007!

Weekly Prayer Update & Monthly News Letter

I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to start writing a weekly prayer update and a monthly newsletter which I will distribute via email. We've have been learning about intercession and the importance of building a solid prayer network. I really believe this is key to doing missionary work!

Thank you for thinking of me, for your prayers and all the emails, txt msgs and phone msgs that I have received while I've been away in Adelaide which have all been very encouraging and have meant so much to me! I realise how blessed I am to have such amazing friends and such a caring and loving community at St Matts and also around the world ... God Bless you all!

MCC - Koala Spotting : Tuesday, 16 Jan 07

2007-01-16T23:18:00.000+11:00

This is the base from the road looking back across the vineyards ...

These are the 2 koalas that we spotted on our first day at the base ...

It is a rare privilege to have seen so many koalas in the wild. I went for a walk with another friend on Sunday afternoon and we spotted a mother with her baby on her back and 2 other koalas which was just amazing!

Today we went for a walk in the bush countryside and spotted a koala sleeping in a tree not far off the ground ... isn't he adorable and so cuddly??

At the moment we have about 60 basketball teens on the base so life is slightly more hectic than usual around here especially in the mornings and late evenings and in the bathrooms!! However, it also makes things more entertaining and challenging! Fortunately, they are away from the base for most of the daylight hours playing in a tournament so we have peace and quiet to get on with our study!

We had a test this morning ... thankfully most of us passed with full marks which was encouraging. I'm feeling like I might be coming down with a bit of head cold so if you would like to pray for me, please pray that this does not progress and that I can maintain full health to not miss any of the course!

Tomorrow, after class, we are going for a field trip to Mt Lofty which is the highest point overlooking Adelaide and we may even get to see a comet which is currently visible in the Adelaide sky ...

MCC - Weekend Break : Saturday, 13 January 2007

2007-01-13T11:50:00.000+11:00

I can't believe that one week has already been completed in the course and we are now enjoying a relaxing break over the weekend. I have learnt many interesting, challenging and helpful things regarding "Member Care" which I believe will be a very good preparation base for things to come. The weather has continued to be really warm with a cool breeze in the mornings but thankfully the heat has not been too unbearable.

We had some horrendous bush fires raging out of control in the southern regions of the Mt Lofty range which is only about 30kms from the base ... this was a bit scary as we could hear the drone of the fire as it raged out of control racing through the dry bushlands and scrub just over the hills. Jenna and I imagined that we may be evacuated in the wee hours but decided we would be ok to just throw a few things into our suitcases and make a dash for it down the hill in the car we have!

Last night about 11 of us went back to the markets in the city centre and had a meal together and did some shopping. I was amazed by the variety of specialty food stores and the place was buzzing with people and activity as most people relaxed after what appeared to be a long week at work following the New Year and Christmas breaks judging by their demeanour!

The base is quieter over the weekend as most locals go back to their own homes or to friends for the weekend which gives us who remain here more space and time to relax and just soak up some well deserved rest! I feel like I'm on a bit of a brain overload and I think that the whole change of lifestyle is catching up with me! I feel quite weird when I think about work because it almost feels like I'm on a holiday and it is taking some time to sink in that I will not be going back to the office to work ever again ... quite surreal really!? I've been feeling mentally tired from the lectures even though I'm really interested and keen to know and learn more about the subjects we are being taught. It is also the change of pace and the change of living environment that has meant numerous adjustments to how I think about things. All in all, however, I am finding it really cool to be hanging out with some older folk and some younger folk who I can draw wisdom from and I love their stories and testimonies regarding answered prayers and miraculous God moments ... these are most fun and encouraging to hear! It reminds me of how amazing God is in creating each of us so unique with different experiences and different lives based on the choices we make and don't make.

I am currently reading a great book and I wanted to share this excerpt from pg 26-27:

"Many things have blinded our eyes; a multitude of theological distinctions and religious traditions have made a dichotomy between the doctrines of God and an intimate relationship with him. But there is hope wherever Christians are hungering for God. This is the only cause that ultimately counts, the only link that will not be bent and broken by the ignorance and selfishness of men. Our real link is not with any organisation, but with the living God. As we humble ourselves at the cross, we shall learn the reality of Jesus' power that conquered sin and death. We will receive the promise: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)"

What a great encouragement to end this entry on ... blessings to you and may you hunger and thirst for righteousness and be filled.

MCC - YWAM : Adelaide : Tuesday, 9 January 2007

2007-01-09T19:42:00.000+11:00

Having arrived in Adelaide safely, we were met by a YWAM leader who took us into the hills of Adelaide and up to the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. The base is an old mansion that was built in the 1800s and used to be the Governor's House before it became an orphanage and then became the base for YWAM South Australia. I wish I could show you the photos but it is a beautiful and picturesque setting amongst the vineyards and the rolling hills which are surprisingly green considering the drought situation here!

Jenna and I are sharing a room with a lovely girl - the room is so quaint ... it's really spacious and we have our own separate little lounge area and a door onto the balcony which extends around the whole house. We have limited mobile phone coverage here so having access to the balcony is a bonus ... you just have to hang over the edge with a coat hanger in one hand and your mobile in the other ... tee hee! Jenna is on a very high top bunk and I am on the lower one (thankfully!) and she can stand up straight on her top bunk and still not reach the ceiling so the ceilings are very, very high which makes the room feel very spacious! I feel very at home here despite missing the comfort of my own bathroom ... we have a shared girls bathroom facility which is very old but very quirky in a shabby chic kind of way!!

On our first day, Jenna and I also had a chance to visit some of the South Australian OM staff who have given us some "wheels"!! This is great because it means that we will be mobile on the weekends when we have time to ourselves and can go exploring! On our way back to the base with the car, we were able to stop and see two wild koala bears sitting in a gum tree ... it was so special as it is quite rare to see them in the wild and I managed to get some great shots so as soon as I can download my photos, I will update my pages!

On our first night we had an orientation BBQ with everyone and got to know each other better! There are some great people here from a variety of mission organisations with heaps of missionary experience and knowledge which is invaluable to hear. I had to introduce a team member who is in her mid-sixties, used to be a rocker, has 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren with one to come and who has been a missionary for over 14 years! She's a gem ... along with another gem who is 76 yrs old and has had over 30 something years as a missionary ... and others who I haven't got time to mention right now!

As a result of our wheels, last night (Mon, 8 Jan) we were able to go out for a cheap eat with a friend of hers and she took us to her favourite cafe on Henley Beach. After a long walk up the promenade, we watched the sun setting over the water which was just spectacular and enjoyed a delicious meal at a little cafe called Evida. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of the OM team in South Australia and to see more of Adelaide too!

In the course so far, we've learnt heaps about attrition (why missionaries leave the field), how to raise support and today we took a group tour into the heart of Adelaide city to the "market" for lunch ... we then did a driving tour of the city and went up to Eagle Hill look out to see the city. We've had many laughs as we are all getting to know one another better and many amazing stories of God's faithfulness on the mission field which have inspired and encouraged and challenged us in our faith.

I know that I have made the right decision to be here and that God has placed me here at the right time ... I am content and feel a deep sense of peace that this is exactly where I am meant to be and what I am meant to be doing for the time being and I am grateful and blessed to have so many amazing friends supporting me in prayer and encouragement so thank you to one and all! Please email me with your news and happenings so that I am in the loop on your lives too!

Signing off ... will be in touch again ... God Bless you wherever you may be in the world!

Bon Voyage & Happy New Year 2007 Drinks Party : Saturday, 6 Jan 07

2007-01-07T00:17:00.000+11:00

Tonight we had a great party at our place ... everyone came along to say "Happy New Year 2007" to each other and it was also an opportunity for me to say "Cheers" ... until Feb 07! Here are some memorable moments from the evening ...

Last Day At Work : Friday, 5 Jan 07

2007-01-05T17:01:00.000+11:00

Today was my last day at work ... it started with a fun ferry ride with my usual 8.15am crew ... Sarah & Ryan ... and Mands joined us for a laugh or two ... yesterday we saw a huge pod of dolphins which was just brilliant! I'm going to miss my ferry commute to work every day ... it was sad to say "Goodbye" to everyone but it was also very exciting to finally be finishing up ... and celebrating the start of a whole new adventure ...

Homeward Bound ...